Crossing Lines
by sendmetosanfran
Summary: A series of stories with Red and Donald either trying to cope with each other or blatantly trying to tick each other off. Most will be aimed at humor while others will be more serious. Some Resslington but probably not all.
1. Crossing a Line of Comfort

Raymond had a habit of crossing lines with Donald. Fortunately, it was mostly just with jokes. Sometimes, it was more than that. Like when he nearly got killed by one of Lorca's men. It made Donald hate him even more when he had looked over to see Raymond with that stupid grin on his face.

He had to admit though, Raymond had his moments. He had saved his life. Hell, he even brought the love of his life back. It wasn't Raymond's fault that not long after that, Audrey had been killed.

That was when he had been most confused about Raymond. He had tried to give Donald advice and had even given him what could faintly be considered comfort. Then, Donald had made a comment about Tanida's head in a box. What showed up? A head in a fucking box!

That wasn't all. When he went to confront Reddington about it, the smug bastard was waiting for him. Dembe led him into a room to see Raymond sitting with a small smile on his face and a glass of wine in his hand. The wine had been offered to him.

As he took the drink, he searched Raymond's face. He expected to see some gloating glint in his eyes but only saw a look of sympathy. He took the glass and sat down next to the criminal.

He and Raymond drank in silence. Neither looked at the other. The silence was surprisingly comfortable. Then, Donald felt strange. His breath shortened, and he couldn't keep himself up right.

Donald's vision blurred as his eyelids felt heavy. He slumped over on the other man's shoulder. He felt Raymond's hand rub small circles on his back gently. This had been planned, and Donald knew it. Why it had been planned, he didn't know.

"Y-You drugged me." Donald said as he struggled to stay awake. So, is this how he would die, with Reddington drugging him and acting as though he was trying to make him feel better?

"You need the sleep." Raymond stated in an unusual soft voice. Donald's eyelids plunged downward. He tried to jump up but only ended up flinching. He saw Audrey when his eyes closed and wasn't ready for that.

"Audrey," Donald said meekly but Raymond understood as the younger man's head slid down to rest on Raymond's slightly bulged belly. Donald's head rose and fell with Raymond's breathing. This didn't seem right. Regardless, Donald felt how soft and smelled the cologne of Raymond's clothes. Ressler felt the criminal's hand move from his back to stroke his hair.

"You won't dream of her, not tonight." Red said in a reassuring tone. Why was he doing this and why did he have to have his fingers in Donald's hair?

Raymond felt Donald grow limp. He was still awake but was calm. The fingers in his hair were soothing. He cursed himself for not expecting his drink to be spiked. He cursed himself for letting himself be lulled by a criminal.

"He's going to be pissed when he wakes up." He heard Dembe say. They thought he was asleep. He stayed still. Well, he couldn't have moved if he hadn't to, but that was beside the point.

"I know." Raymond stated. "But when I was in his position, I would have loved for someone to have drugged me." He added. Then, everything went black.

Donald awoke in someone else's bed. He felt like he'd been bashed in the head. In stories you always read that people don't remember right away what happen before they're drugged. Donald wished that were true. Instead, he remembered ever detail right down to the smell of Reddington's jacket and the calming effect the man had on him.  
After a few minutes, he decided he had better get up. He sat up and rubbed his aching head. He looked over at the chair next to him and black fabric.

He stared for a full minute before he realized that the fabric was his jacket and pants. Donald's eyes widened before he looked under the covers. He'd been left with nothing but his boxers and undershirt. That bastard had been one layer of fabric from seeing him naked, from making him naked. The thought made the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

Donald dressed and walked out of the room. It was quiet. If it weren't for the faint sound coming from what he guessed was the kitchen, he would have thought he had been abandoned. The smell of a frying egg hit him and made his stomach clench.

"What food does someone eat after they've been drugged?" Raymond asked. Donald looked in the kitchen to see Dembe cooking while Raymond read the newspaper. Neither of them had seen him.

"If I were him, I wouldn't trust you enough to eat anything you offered." Dembe replied as he flipped the egg. Raymond gave a belly laugh and grinned broadly. He still had the paper in front of his face and couldn't see Donald.

"Right you are, but it would still be rude not to offer. If we weren't going to offer him breakfast, we might as well have roofied him."

"What the hell did you give me?" Donald asked. The two looked over to him as if they had forgotten he was even in the house. He must have looked horrible because they stared at him long enough for the egg to cook on the other side.

"Donald, you look as though you slept well." Raymond finally stated. "Come have a seat. What would you like for breakfast?" He asked. Donald sat across from Red and watched him blearily.

"Which one of you undressed me?" Donald questioned just now realizing how husky his voice sounded.

"We've got eggs. You could have toast or cereal."

"Who undressed me?"

"I'm sure we could talk Dembe into cooking some muffins. Oh, you should really try them! They're absolutely delici-,"

"RED!" Donald nearly yelled. Red's grin faded.

"If it makes you feel any better, it was a team effort." Red stated as he lifted his newspaper back up. Oh yeah, because having two men undress him instead of one made him feel great. Fuck you, Reddington!

Donald sat back in the kitchen chair. His stomach gurgled causing him to give a noise of discomfort. Raymond glanced at him.

"Dembe, be a dear and making him some toast. It'll help settle his stomach." Red stated. Dembe gave a quick nod before putting two pieces of bread in the toaster.

Dembe slid the egg from the frying pan onto a plate. He sat it down in front of Reddington who folded and laid his newspaper aside. Donald glanced at the plate. It had two eggs, toast, sausage, and what he guessed was grits all laid out neatly. If he ate like this at every meal, it was no wonder the man had a bit of a spare tire under his shirt.

Dembe brought Donald his toast before going back to the oven to make his own breakfast. Donald had barely even had time to issue a brief thanks before the man was turned away from him. He picked up the bread and nibbled at it. What could happen? Would they drug him again?

"Feel any better, Donald?" Red asked asked he tucked the napkin into the collar of his shirt. "Because you look like hell," he added as he picked up his silverware.

"I'm fine." He answered and the criminal gave a small nod. He took a bite of the eggs and didn't look at the younger man again. He knew Donald needed time to heal and wasn't going to intrude.

Red and Donald slowly but surely finished their meals. Raymond took both of their plates to the sink and clapped Dembe on the back. The larger man glanced at him.

"Another fine meal." Red said as if announcing it. Donald couldn't help but glance at Red's belly and mental scoff an 'I bet'. He saw Red lean in closer to Dembe and whisper something. Dembe nodded before Red grabbed his newspaper and headed out of the room.

"Mr. Reddington wishes for me to tell you that you are permited to stay here for a few days." Dembe stated.

"He was just here. Couldn't he have told me himself?" Donald asked. Without answering, Dembe turned from him. Donald was getting tired of people avoiding him when he asked something. He wasn't going to press his luck with Dembe, but maybe he could get something out of Red. He was the one who was offering him a place... What the hell was he playing at?

Donald exited the kitchen and went into the living room. He saw Raymond sitting comfortably in an old chair with the newspaper opened in front of him. He never bothered to look up but knew that Ressler was there.

"So, how long will you be staying, Donald?" Reddington asked. He knew the answer that was coming. He still had to ask to make things go smoothly.

"I won't be," Ressler answered.

"We'll see," Reddington muttered and flipped the page. Donald didn't say anything before he left. He went to the black-site. Reddington joined them later on. The day was extraordinarily uneventful. Reddington kept trying to pull him into small talk but was unsuccessful.

It seemed like an eternity before the day ended. Donald went to his car. He noticed the black car behind him that he knew Dembe was driving. He didn't get in like Red had planned. Instead, he drove to his apartment building. He sat in his car and watched the rain fall.

He hated to admit that he couldn't go in. He'd never be able to go inside without Audrey haunting him. He waited an hour before he finally decided what to do.  
Reddington heard the knock on the door and saw Dembe nod. Red opened the door and gave Donald a perplexed look. Ressler was soaked to the bone and shivering. He had his arms crossed over his chest, and the only thing colder than him was his gaze.

"Donald, I'm sorry to tell you this but the offer no longer stands." Red stated. Ressler didn't argue. He just turned to walk away. Red grabbed Donald's arm. Ressler turned back to see Red shake his head. Red felt just how chilled the man really was. Had he stood out there trying to think of an excuse to leave? He wouldn't have doubted it.

"I'm only joking." Red said and Donald entered. Dembe came back with a towel and handed it to Ressler. He took it and tried to avoid Raymond's gaze. "Do you need anything?"

Donald shook his head. Red nodded and patted him on the back. Donald tried to ignore the fact that his hand seemed to linger after the last pat. This visit may prove to be very...interesting.


	2. Personal Space

Donald awoke and for a moment, wondered where he was. This wasn't his apartment, and this wasn't his bed. He rubbed his eye with the heel of his palm and yanwed. He remember Reddington's offer to let him stay. Donald still wasn't sure why he had even considered letting him stay. He wasn't sure why he had accepted.

Oh well, there was no use in dwelling on it. He climbed out of the over sized bed and got dressed. He still felt tired when he walked into the living room. He stopped when he heard talking coming from the kitchen. It was a woman's voice that he didn't recognize.

Donald glanced around the corner and saw a blonde wearing a red dress. Reddington was sitting while she was standing. Donald figured it was so he could get a better look at her breasts that were virtually hanging out of the revealing dress. Donald stepped forward into the room. The woman glanced at him and clamped her mouth shut.

"Good mourning, Donald." Reddington stated with a smug grin. "This is Scarlet. She works at a pub." He added and Scarlet raised an eyebrow at him.

"What? Are you gonna tell him my life story?" Scarlet asked making Raymond roll his eyes.

"Just tell me how to get the information."

"But what about him?" She asked and pointed her thumb back over her shoulder at Donald. Raymond glanced at Donald and then back to the woman.

"As much fun as it would be to see you take his head off, i have to say that he's fine. You can say most anything you want to in front of him." Red explained and Scarlet nodded. Donald moved over towards them. If he was allowed here, he might as well see what was going on.

"So, this chick, McCarthy, expects all of clients to come in pairs. Thing is both of the people there have to be guys."

"I'll take Dembe."

"She's racist. She nearly shot a black guy in the bar. That's why she can't come back." Scarlet stated. Reddington huffed.

"Too bad Newton is dead,"

"What happened to him anyway?" Scarlet asked. Red glanced at Donald and then at the blonde. "...Oh, that is unfortunate." She turned to Donald. "What about you?"

"What?" Donald asked. He crossed his arms and leaned back on the wall behind him. He glanced at Red and saw that he looked confused as well.

"Why don't you go with him? I'm sure McCarthy would like you. She's got a weird thing for tall guys." Scarlet explained. Donald shrugged.

"I guess I could. I don't know how much help I would be."

"Just stand there and look pretty." Scarlet stated. She picked up her purse. "I've got to go. Have you got everything you need?" She asked and Red nodded. "Ok, be good."

Red laughed and said, "I don't think I can pull that off." He stood and the two exchanged hugs. She patted him on the back before letting go.

"Just don't kill anybody."

"How long should this take?" Donald asked Reddington who was sitting in the car seat next to him. Red shrugged. "Well, what do we have to do? How do we need to act? What is this chick like?"

"Donald, there are a few things that we just have to play by ear." Red replied getting a bit tired of Donald's constant quizzing. "Just let me do the talking." He added and Donald nodded.

The car came to a halt in front of an old building. Donald bit his lower lip and furrowed his brow. They couldn't honestly be meeting in a place like this. It was run down and looked as though it would fall apart any second now. They got out and went up to the front door. Red knocked on the large wooden door. For a moment, Donald wondered if it would break or fall off the hinges.

The door opened slowly and revealed a small woman looking up at them. Both men were shocked by her appearance. Her black, with flecks of gray, hair was frizzed and pulled up into pigtails. Thick glasses made her eyes look bugged and crazy. She was frail, and her small hands were gnarled.

"Can I help you?" She asked in a small voice.

"I want to ask you what you know about a man named Herrick Lancaster." Raymond stated apparently unfazed by the woman's appearance. Donald on the other hand seemed taken aback by the small woman. He got an erie feeling from her.

"Who sent you?" She questioned as she squinted her owlish eyes.

"Scarlet Anderson, she works at a bar that you used to go to." Raymond answered. McCarthy seemed to be appeased by this. She opened the door and stepped aside for them to enter. Donald glanced at her as they crossed the threshold into the building. She was wearing a dress that made her look as if she wanted to be a five year old again. "I love what you've done with the place!"

"Thank you." McCarthy said and pushed her glasses back up to the top of her nose. Glancing around, Donald saw that the building was completely different on the inside. The room was lined with red carpeting. There was a bookshelf filled to the brim with novels of virtually every genre. He found it odd that the only furniture was two large arm chairs that faced each other. He guessed that when Scarlet told him to 'stand there and look pretty', she literally meant for him to stand.

"So, what do I need to pay you for this information?" Raymond asked as he looked down at the petite woman. She smiled up at him. They had to admit, she did have nice teeth. That still didn't counteract the fact that she looked like a demented school child with graying hair.

"There's no need to pay me, Mr..."

"Reddington." Raymond finished for her. "But you can call me Raymond or Red, if you would prefer that." Her grin grew as she looked at Donald.

"And what's your boyfriend's name?" She asked causing both men to freeze. Boyfriend? Where the hell did she get that ide-... That's why Raymond had to bring a man!

"This is Donald." Raymond said after the brief shock had worn off. He looked back at the still stunned FBI officer. "Come here Donald and let the woman get a good look at you." He instructed and Donald obeyed. When he was close enough, Red grabbed Donald's hand. McCarthy clasped her hands together like an excited school girl.

"What lovely names for a couple!" She said brightly. "You two have a seat and we'll get on with business." She added. The two men exchanged a quick glance as McCarthy took one of the seats.

"There's only one seat." Raymond stated. McCarthy gave him a small grin.

"You aren't afraid to sit in your boyfriend's lap are you?" She asked. Red looked shocked for a moment. Then, he and Donald moved over to the red chair. Donald sat down before Red sat in his lap. Donald made a small noise of discomfort and laughed to play it off when McCarthy gave him a strange look. He leaned forward and playfully kissed Red on the cheek.

"You're fucking heavy!" Donald hissed in Red's ear to where McCarthy couldn't hear. Red laughed and wrapped his arms around the other man's shoulders.

"Oh Donald, you're such a tease." He said and planted a kiss on Donald's lips. Donald refrained from jerking back from shock. Red moved his mouth over to his ear.

"Shut the hell up!" He hissed. "Every time you insult me, I'll kiss you, and neither of us want that."

"That's so nice." McCarthy stated. Donald gave a small chuckle.

"It's always nice when I've got my BIG man." Donald replied and clapped his hand on Raymond's belly. Red flinched and his gaze shot to the younger man. He was laughing, but Donald knew he was pissed. If someone's going to pull you into something like this, you might as well get a few fat jokes in.

"So, what do you need to know?" She asked and leaned back in her seat.

"I just need to know where I can find him. You see, he owes me for a service I provided." Raymond stated. She nodded and bit her lower lip.

"I'll have to make a quick call." She stated and picked up a small phone from a coffee table that sat in front of her. "It'll only take a minute."

"Please, take your time. We're in no rush." Raymond said with a smile. He shifted his position and laid his head against Donald's shoulder. Donald wound his arms around the shorter man's waist, and Red twitched. "I don't like people touching my sides." He whispered.

"Well, I like to be able to feel my legs. So, I guess we're both disappointed." Donald replied quietly while McCarthy chatted on her phone. Donald tightened his grip on the man slightly and felt him tense up.

"Move your arms." Red muttered and played with Donald's hair to make him uncomfortable. Instead of doing like Raymond wanted, Donald used his thumb to poke him in the side of the stomach.

"I'll move when it doesn't feel like a pregnant person is sitting on me." Donald hissed. Red glared at him before remembering his threat from earlier. He placed a hand on Donald's cheek before bringing their lips together. This kiss was longer than the last but was still over quickly. He really didn't want to kiss Donald but couldn't go back on what he said. "So, that's how you want to play this."

Red sucked in a deep breath as Donald leaned down and kissed his neck. McCarthy blushed, and Donald pulled away. Red's cheeks had a slight pink tinge to them. Donald smirked. He finally beat the bastard at his own game. At least that's what he thought. Red placed his hand at the back of Donald's neck and pulled him into another kiss.

McCarthy hung up after her call ended and stared wide eyed at the two men. She tilted her head and wondered when the two would come up for air. She'd never seen any of her clients go at it like this. She was certain that these two were actually gay men and not two people who were willing to fake it for information.

"E-excuse me." She said meekly and the two turned their heads to look at her. "He's in Paris. He said he was staying in a little bed and breakfast that was a few miles from the Eiffel Tower."

"Thank you." Raymond said. His voice sounded a bit lower than it had previously. He stood up and Donald swore he felt like his legs would never be the same again. He would have used this to mock Raymond if it hadn't been for the fact that halfway through that last kiss, both of them had forgotten it was just an act and a means for revenge.

"It was nice meeting you two." She said and led the two to the door. They exited and got in the car. She waved good bye and they returned the gesture. Then, the car pulled out onto the road. There was a long silence before Donald decided to break it.

"...S-So...breasts," he said as if that was enough.

"Yes, they're marvelous things." Raymond replied. He pulled down on the end of his vest to straighten out a wrinkle. "Scarlet has nice breasts."

"Yeah, she does."

"You know, she sings at the bar?"

"That's nice,"

"Apparently, when she runs late getting the show started, she flashes the crowd."

"...We really need to go see her sing."

"I'll set it up first thing in the mourning."

Author's note_

Ok, Scarlet is a character of mine. I'm going to have her as a main character in a book. I have none of it completed yet. I've got way too many story ideas :).

I used the name McCarthy because in history I always end up amused when they talk about Joseph McCarthy and his 'blacklist'. (in case you don't know, he was part of a 'red scare' where people were afraid of communism. He came up with a list of people. Most were people he was blackmailing. Now, if you accuse someone with no basis, it's called 'McCarthyism')

Last note. The reason why McCarthy doesn't do business with straight men and black people is because her husband cheated on her repeatedly with black women. Mostly, I needed a reason why Dembe couldn't go. So, I thought maybe her husband had some fetish or something.


	3. Showers

Donald woke for the third time in Reddington's house. Wasn't Red supposed to move around every once in a while? Oh well, it didn't really matter. Donald got up and went to the bathroom. He undressed and stepped into the shower. He let the hot water beat down on his back for a minute before he grabbed the shapoo. No sooner than when he got a good lather in his hair, the door opened.

Donald stared wide eyed at Reddington who was glaring at him. He crossed his arms over his chest. Donald had never seen him dressed like this. He was in a pair of beige shorts and a plain white shirt.

"Get out. I need the shower." Red stated and Donald's look of shock turned into a glare.

"No, I just got shampoo in my hair." Donald replied and really hoped that Red couldn't see too well past the thin shower curtain. "I'll be done in ten minutes. You can wait that long."

"No, I have to be ready to leave in fifteen minutes. You'll have to get out and finish later."

"I have to be at work in fifteen minutes. And where do you have to go?" Donald questioned in an irritated tone. He washed part of the shampoo out before he looked back at Reddington. His eyes widened when he saw what Red was doing. The white shirt had been cast off and to the side. Then, Donald saw him reaching for the waist band of his shorts.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Ressler exclaimed and adverted his eyes.

"It's obvious that neither of us are going to leave. We might as well use our time wisly." Red stated before stripping down to nothing. "Now, move over."

"FUCK NO!" Donald yelped as Red moved closer to the shower. "Can't you go one day without acting like we're a couple of gay guys?" He asked and Red gave him a skeptical look.

"I'm the one acting gay? You're the one who gave me a hickey." Red stepped in and Donald turned away from him. He had no desire to see the older man naked. Donald's face was a bright red while Raymond seemed completely at ease. "Oh, don't be such a wuss. It's not like we're doing anything."

"Just keep quiet and stay to your side!" Ressler replied. Raymond rolled his eyes and went about his business. Raymond swore as Donald heard a thunk. He looked down and saw that a bar of soap had slid in front of his feet.

"Donald, can y-."

"I'M LEAVING!" Ressler yelped. He got out quickly, wrapped a towel around his waist, and grabbed his clothes. He went to the door and looked back. He pointed to Raymond who was holding back a smirk. "Fuck you."

Raymond chuckled as Donald left the room. When would Donald learn that he'd do what ever was nesicary to get what he wanted? He bent down and picked up the soap. He stood back up and rubbed his neck where he had noticed the small bruise earlier. What would he have done if Donald had bent over? His cheeks reddened, and he shook his head to keep the thought from going any farther.

Author's note_

Just as a note, if you don't know where the hickey came from, it was in the last chapter when Ressler kissed Red on the neck. I didn't know if I made that obvious or not.


	4. embarrassing

Apparently, Red had only had to go meet another client. Donald didn't think that this mourning's shower fiasco had really been necessary. For him, it only made it awkward when Red showed up at the black-site. As usual, he called the group over to the projector. It showed pictures of a rather burly looking man.

"This is Herrik Vancover." Red stated. Donald tried to hold back a blush at remembering that this was who he and Reddington had to act like a couple to get information about. He failed miserably when he noticed the mark on Reddington's neck. Somehow, it looked larger than it had this mourning. He was shocked that no one had seen it. Although, they might have just avoided bringing it up.

"He's responsible for the murder of several women and children. The only reason he's on my list is that he kills them in his science experiments. "Reddington explained and glanced at Donald who averted his gaze to avoid eye contact. "Luckily I know where he's staying now and where he'll go if he leaves. All you have to do is go get him."

"Why are you just giving us a blacklister?" Donald asked and crossed his arms. Red looked to him. This time Ressler refused to look away.

"Be patient, Donald. We'll get to that in a minute." Red replied and Ressler scoffed. Patient my ass! Raymond's the one who was so damn anxious to get into a shower with another man just so he wouldn't have to wait a few minutes. "All I want is a few minutes alone with Herrik. He has some information I want."

"So, what you're saying is that we're running an errand for you?"

"Do, you not want to stop the death of innocent children, Donald? If not, I can keep my information." Red said.

"I was there when you found out where Herrik is. If you didn't tell them, I would." Ressler argued and Red clenched his jaw.

"I swear you get dumber every day. If he left before you got there, you would have no idea where he went. You would be up the creek without a paddle, and I certainly wouldn't provide you one, Donald." He said and Donald was quiet. Red looked at Harold. "If you tell me that I can get the information from Herrik, we can get this over with."

"Fine, you can get your information." Harold replied. Red looked at Donald smugly.

"What's going on between you and Red?" Liz asked Donald. He had just sat down in his car and was about to close the door. "You two seemed to be going at each other's throat more than usual." She added and Donald tried not to blush. Of course, she had to mention throats right after he'd given Red a hickey.

"It's nothing. He's just pissing me off like usual." Ressler replied and looked up at the woman. She didn't look like she bought it.

"Did he do something to you?"

"When does he not do something?" Donald asked and raised and eyebrow.

"You know what I mean." She replied. Donald sighed. He glanced around to see if Reddington was anywhere close by. He wasn't. Ressler looked back up at Keen.

"How good are you with secrets?"

"Agent Ressler, we work for the FBI and our asset is number four on the most wanted list. I think we both can keep a secret."

"Get in the car." Donald said. She gave him an odd look but did as requested. She got in, and they closed their doors. "When Audrey was... you know. Reddington offered to let me stay with him and Dembe."

"So, you're worried he has a thing for you?"

"Actually, I accepted." Donald said and bit his lower lip. He glanced at her and saw the tight lipped expression on her face. He guessed she was refraining from asking if he thought he had turned gay for Reddington. "I just couldn't get myself to go back to the apartment, alright? It made me think of her too much."

"Are you still staying with him?"

"I'm going to leave today or tomorrow. I can't stand him. I don't know how Dembe stands to work for the bastard."

"What did he do?"

"Well, I was in the shower-" Donald stated and was cut off by Liz's snort of laughter. She held it back and motioned for him to continue. "He came into the bathroom and told me to get out because he needed the shower. I told him no. So, he decided to get in." He explained and felt his cheeks redden. He could see Liz out of the corner of his eyes. Her cheeks were red from holding back laughter.

"So, you showered with another man. That's not as bad as it could be." She said. Her shoulders shook as she tried not to laugh.

"There's one other thing."

"Hmm,"

"...He dropped the soap." Donald stated. Liz held her breath to stop the laughter from coming out. "He asked me to pick it up."

Liz lost it. She burst into a fit of laughter and slumped over onto Donald's shoulder. His face was as red as it could get. He ran his hand through his hair to try and deal with his embarrassment. Liz clutched her side and slowed her laughter. Her door opened and Red leaned down to look at the two.

"What the hell are you two doing in here? I could hear her cackling at the other side of the building." He asked. The sides of Liz's mouth twitched upward as she tried to hold back another fit of laughter. "What?"

"I-It's a hickey. You have a hickey on your neck." She said and Red's cheek took on a pink tinge. He covered the mark with his hand and looked to Donald.

"You bastard. You told her about McCarthy!" Red accused and Liz's gaze shot to Donald. He looked exasperated.

"W-Who's McCarthy?" Liz asked and Red's cheeks reddened. What had he just done? "Donald, d-did you give Reddington a hickey?"

"Would you believe me if I said no?" He asked. Liz went into another fit of laughter. She chuckled hysterically as the two men blushed madly.

author's note_

You can thank rebeccabraxton for this chapter. If it weren't for a review they gave gave me, I wouldn't have thought of Donald telling Liz about him and Reddington.

Again, thanks to everyone who leaves reviews. :D They really do mean a lot to me.


	5. Apartment

"I think that we can get into Scarlet's show tonight." Red stated with a small grin. Donald looked up at the criminal. He reminded Donald of a child aching to get outside and have fun. Maybe that was why Red had turned into a criminal. Work might have just been too boring for him.

"Actually, I was going to go back to my apartment." Donald replied as he picked up what was left of his spare clothes. Dembe had gone to his apartment and had raided the closet for the outfits that Donald had mentioned.

"I see," Red said. It was small, but Donald noticed the twitch in his smile. Ressler bit the inside of his jaw as the two stood in an awkward silence. What was he supposed to do, offer to let Red tag along? He wasn't about to do that. That would have just sounded pathetic.

"Do you need help moving your things?" Red asked, and Donald shook his head. Red nodded, and his smile was completely gone. "I guess I'll get Dembe to go with me. I don't know that he will. He doesn't especially care for bars. Says that men pick fights with him, when they get drunk."

He turned to leave. Donald took a deep breath and accepted his fate. He looked away from Red to keep from having to see his reaction.

"Do you want to go with me?" Donald asked. Red froze in the doorway.

"What?" Red asked as he turned around. Donald avoided eye contact and had to keep himself from gritting his teeth.

"I could use the company."

"Alright, I'll go." Raymond replied sounding a little happier about it than he meant to. He'd never admit it, but he'd grown used to having Donald around. It had only been a few days but a lot had happened. He decided to ignore the fact that Donald looked annoyed.

In the next few minutes, Red had managed to help Donald pack, got Dembe to agree to go see Scarlet and tell him how the show was, and had gotten in the car. Donald was really starting to wonder why Red seemed so eager to go with him. He didn't really want to ask. He was a little afraid of what the answer would be.

Donald drove them to the apartment building which wasn't very far from Red's hideout. They got out of the car. Donald grabbed his bag and started for the stairs. Red followed close behind. They entered Donald's apartment on the third floor.

"Are you going to need a ride back?" Donald asked. Red shook his head and looked around the room.

"I'll just walk. I like how you've got the room set up, Donald. I didn't picture you as a decorative person." Reddington commented. The room didn't have much, but it was homey. The furniture looked comfortable. There was a book shelf and a few potted plants.

"Actually, Audrey did most of this." Ressler replied as he moved to the bedroom to put things away. Red bit his bottom lip. He hadn't meant to make Donald mention Audrey. He followed him to the bedroom. He saw a row of pictures. He picked up one in the middle.

"Is this your mother?" He asked and Donald glanced at the picture. He gave Raymond an odd look.

"That's my brother." He replied and Red's gaze snapped back to the picture. Donald smirked as Red stared at the picture. "I'm kidding. It's my mother." Red sat the picture back down and decided that he had better just stop talking.

Donald hung up his clothes. Red wandered back into the living room. He looked down at a pile of women's clothes that sat on the sofa. He squinted when he saw a box. After making sure that Donald wasn't looking, he picked it up. It was a pregnancy test. The top had been ripped open but the test still sat inside.

He pulled it out. He put the box back and stuck the test in his pocket. He started for the door. Donald didn't need to know about this. He was reaching for the door knob when he felt a hand grab onto the back of his belt. Donald pulled him back causing him to swear under his breath.

"Hand it over." Donald ordered. Red pursed his lips and refused to look at him.

"I put the picture back, Donald."

"That's not what I'm talking about, and you know it. Now, hand it over." Donald said. Red tried to turn around, but Donald had a death grip on his belt.

"You're going to have to be specific, Donald." Red said trying to weasel his way out of this. He knew he was failing when Donald tightened his grip and twisted the belt. It tightened around Red's waist. The edges of the buckle were starting to poke into his belly painfully.

"Give me the test, Red. And don't you dare say that you don't have it. I saw you pick it up."

"No," Red stated. Donald gave a yell of rage and spun the shorter man around. He slammed his back into the door and held him by his shoulders. Red's calm appearance only enraged Donald more.

"Give me the damned test!"

"No," Red said again. Donald gripped Red's shoulders. He wanted to kill him. He wanted to beat that calm look off of his face. "What are you going to do if you find out, Donald?" Red asked. Donald was silent.

"I know what you would do, Donald. You'd feel sorry for yourself all over again. No matter what this test says, you'll feel like you got cheated out of a family." Red explained. Donald's grip got tighter causing Red to wince.

"Then, why won't you give it to me?"

"As long as I don't give it to you, you'll be mad at me, not at yourself and the rest of the world. You'll realize later that I'm doing you a favor.

"STOP IT! Stop trying to do me favors! I can handle things by myself!" Donald yelled but Red wasn't relenting. Tears streamed down Donald's cheeks. "Please," he muttered as his hands slid to the door behind Red.

Red sighed. He put his hands on Donald's shoulders and squeezed. It was meant to reassure the man, but all it did was leave Red's pocket exposed. Donald seized his opportunity. He grabbed the pregnancy test and bolted.

"Damn it, Donald!" Red shouted as the taller man looked at the test. He sneered and flung it across the room.

"She never used it." Donald stated and fell into the seat behind him. He leaned his face into his hands and tried to fight the tears back. He felt a hand on his back. He never bothered to look up. He just slumped over to the side where Red was sitting on the arm of the chair. His head rested against the criminal side.

"Do you want to come back to the house for a few more days?" Red asked and Donald shook his head. He rubbed Donald's shoulder. "Do you want me to stay here with you for tonight?" He asked. He expected Donald to glare up at him, but instead, he nodded as a sob escaped him. "I'll have to call Dembe and tell him I'm staying."

A good ten minutes passed before Donald got his sobbing under control. He hated the fact that he had broken down in front of Red but was relieved to have finally let all of that bottled up emotion out. Now, Red had his phone to his ear.

"How's the show?" Red asked. Dembe had hesitated before answering.

"It's good. It wasn't what I expected though."

"How so?" Red questioned.

"It's not the kind of music I expected." Dembe lied. Red didn't ask any further questions. Instead, he explained he wouldn't be coming back that night. Dembe said that he understood. Then, the call ended.

Dembe took one last glance at Scarlet. She was on the stage, barely clothed. Dembe had never expected this from her. He walked out the front door. He couldn't watch. He knew that if Red found out about this, he'd kill her.

author's note_

Sorry that this one wasn't funny. I wanted to show a bit of character development. Scarlet's character seemed too flat to me. Plus, I couldn't see a funny way for Donald to go back to his apartment, and he couldn't stay with Red forever. It wouldn't seem realistic to me.(not that this fanfiction seems to be very realistic anyway)


	6. Avoiding an awkward situation

Donald woke up but kept his eyes closed. He wasn't sure where he was. He was leaning against something. It was warm and had a steedy movement to it. He opened his eyes and glanced around. He saw that he was sitting on his couch, but that didn't explain what he was laying against.

Wait... Where was Reddington? Donald froze in shock. He was afraid to turn around but knew that he had to. He turned his head and his fear was true. He was leaning against Reddington's side, his head had been laying against Red chest.

He felt his cheeks redden a little. Liz would have loved to have seen this. Maybe he could move without waking Red up. With any luck... Ok, a miracle, Red wouldn't even realize that they had been in this position. Donald cursed himself mentally when he realized that their act at McCarthy's had been a lot worse than this.

He flinched when he felt Red shift positions. He leaned back and brought his arm around Donald's waist. Ressler cursed under his breath as his face turned a brighter shade of red. The arm around his waist made it to where he had to lean back.

He could get out of this. He had to. There was no way that he would allow Raymond to wake up and see that they were positioned like this. Neither would ever be able to look at the other again. He was starting to wonder if he'd ever be able to even look at himself in the mirror anymore. At least, at McCarthy's place, they hadn't had a choice. Here, it had just been some unfortunate turn of events.

He pushed Red's hand to the side hoping that it wasn't enough to wake him up. Donald started to sit up. For a split second, he thought he was free. Then, tragedy struck. Red's hand wound back around his waist. He turned to his side bringing the FBI agent with him.

Donald made a noise of hopelessness. He was hanging halfway off the sofa. He'd never get away unnoticed now. He could barely keep from falling. Red's hand gripped Donald's shirt. Ressler grabbed Red's wrist and pulled his arm away. By some miracle, Red's arm stayed off of Donald long enough for him to get away.

He stood and straightened out his shirt. He gave Red one last glance before going to the bedroom to get dress. Red turned onto his back with a smug grin. It really was fun messing with Donald.

author's note_

ok, this wasn't my best chapter, but I think it's still amusing. My next chapter will be funnier. I promise. I promise. :D


	7. later that day

The Black-site suffered another terribly boring day. Wasn't Red supposed to lead them to his blacklisters? Surely there was one he could give up on his seemingly unending list. Regardless, the day had been bland. Which had given Donald plenty of time to fume about what had happened that mourning.

He had come up with a plan. Now, he just needed to get Red alone in his apartment. Honestly, he didn't think it would be that difficult. It just so happened that Red had left his hat on the coffee table. Wait, had Red planned that?

"I just need to get my hat. Then, I'll be out of your hair, Donald." Red stated as he entered the officers apartment. He moved to the table and picked up the hat. Donald closed the door just as Red turned around. Reddington furrowed his brow when he heard the lock click behind Donald.

"Forget the hat for a minute, Raymond." Donald said. Raymond? Since when did Donald stop calling him 'Red'. "We really need to have a talk."

"Alright," Red replied and lowered himself onto the sofa. He placed the hat on his head as if to say, 'I'm not staying long'. Donald wasn't about to let him leave until he was ready for the criminal to go. "What do we need to talk about?"

"I think it's pretty obvious." Donald stated and moved closer. "Something happened this mourning." He added. Red fought back a smirk and raised his eyebrows.

"What would that be, Donald?"

"You wouldn't let go of me, Raymond." Donald said and Red felt a little creeped out by how he said it. To be completely honest, Red was starting to get a bad feeling about this. He stood up and gave Donald a fake smile.

"I actually need to be going." Red replied. He started to move past Donald. Ressler held out an arm to block the older man.

"Raymond, you know, they say that our subconscious tries to tell us what we want." Ressler stated. Red back away from him slightly. This didn't feel right. "You were asleep, but you wouldn't let go of me. And then, you left your hat here."

"I don't understand."

"You want me, Raymond. You can't tell me that those kisses at McCarthy's were completely meaningless." Donald said as he walked forward. Red hadn't realized that he'd been backing away until he bumped into the wall. He glanced to the sides quickly. He had to find a way out of here.

"Donald, that was just pretend. We had to act like that." Red explained but didn't think Donald was buying it. Ressler shook his head and moved forward. Reddington moved to the side to avoid contact. He felt a chill go down his spine when he noticed the look on Donald's face when he was herded into the bedroom. "Donald, you can't honestly think that we'd be good together."

"Opposites attract, Raymond." Donald replied. Raymond felt a panic rising over him. The way Ressler was saying his name. It sounded down right sexual. Red yelped when Ressler shoved him backwards. Before he could move, Donald had climbed on top of him. He straddled the older man's waist and held his arms down on either side of his head.

"What the hell?!"

"Come on, Raymond. Let's have some fun." Donald said with a mad look in his eye. Red opened his mouth to speak but was too shocked to say anything. This couldn't really be happening, could it? "How do you want it, hard, gentle?"

"I-I... What?"

"I know," Donald said apparently getting an idea. He Red's arms above Reddington's head and reached over to his nightstand. He grabbed a pair of handcuffs and snickered.

Red froze. What the hell was going on? Donald was supposed to hate him. He wasn't supposed to handcuff him to a bed and do...whatever the hell he thought he was about to do. The cuffs were around Red's wrists before he realized that Donald had moved.

"GET THESE OFF OF ME!" Red yelled as he jerked against the metal. Donald smirked. Red froze. This couldn't be good.

"With pleasure," he replied and moved back. Red tried to jerk away when Ressler's hands went to his belt. He couldn't move with Ressler sitting on his legs. The belt was gone in a moment. Then, Donald started to unbutton.

"I WAS JUST SCREWING AROUND!" Red shouted. Ressler looked up to see that the man was red faced. "I was awake the whole time. I just wanted to make you uncomfortable."

"It's about fucking time." Ressler replied getting off of Reddington.

"What?"

"I was starting to think I would actually have to take your pants off. And, I really didn't want to do that." Ressler said. Red stared at him. "I just wanted to make you admit that you were awake when all of that happened.

"You fucking bastard,"

"You know, I could just leave you like that and let Dembe come get you." Ressler stated. Red clamped his mouth shut. This was embarrassing enough. He didn't need Dembe in on Ressler's joke. Donald grabbed the key and unlocked Reddington.

"How long have you known?" Red asked as he rubbed his wrist.

"Since you got that smug look on your face,"

"You know, there's one thing that you got wrong."

"If we for some reason were to be in bed together, I would be on top." Red stated as he stood. Ressler scoffed and crossed his arms.

"Like hell you would,"


	8. not according to plan

Raymond had to go to Cuba. Unfortunately, he had to have a way to keep up with what information was being sifted through the Black-Site. Even worse, the only person he had to leave was Scarlet. Dembe obviously had to go with him.

Scarlet had accepted instantly even though Red had had a few conditions. He knew that when they actually got to the Black-Site, she would try to change his mind about certain things. He also knew that he couldn't give her any leeway on this. If he did, she would try to change other things as well.

He led her inside. She was dressed up like Raymond had wanted her to. She had no idea why he wanted her to dress like this. He had just told her that it was to keep her identity safe. She didn't buy it.

She had to wear a brunette wig which was up in a bun but still covered her blonde hair. To be completely honest, the wig was itchy and she wondered if there were bugs crawling in it. She had thick glasses that made her think of McCarthy. Plus, she had enough make up to be considered a clown. Raymond had picked out a dark red outfit that consisted of a long sleeved shirt, a tight and long skirt that was difficult to walk in, and a pair of ugly and uncomfortable heels that added to her hopelessness of being able to walk around this freakin building. Seriously, why were there so many stairs?

"Do you remember everything I told you?" Red asked.

"Yes," Scarlet replied. This was getting annoying. Raymond had been asking her that the whole way over here. He had better be happy that she liked him.

"Repeat it." He instructed. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. Scarlet sighed and slumped forward. This was getting bad. "Don't do that when you're in there."

"What does it matter? I'm sure that Donald is gonna recognize me anyway."

"Just go through it once. If he recognizes you, you won't have to wear this stuff."

"Fine. I'm Megan Roosevelt. I'm a cranky brunette with a massive crush on you and will do anything you ask. This is starting to sound like some weird fantasy thing." She said and Red rolled his eyes.

"And what will you do while you're here?"

"Report back to you," Scarlet answered. Red nodded and led her down another flight of stairs. The group was gathered around to look at the projector. Red brought Scarlet over to them causing them to turn.

"This is Megan. Sh-," Red started.

"What the hell happened to no extras in the post office?" Donald cut in. Red gave him a quick glare.

"There are exception to every rule, Donald."

"What's with the big box?" Scarlet asked pointing to the box that Red had been put in the minute he arrived. Red sighed. "Wait a second. This is the post office. You people have a freakin mail box."

"Megan, go sit." Red instructed. She huffed and did as she was told.

"Why is she an exception?" Ressler asked. Red glared at him again. He had to be on the plane in five minutes. He didn't need Donald wasting his time.

"Because I said so,"

"Yeah, because that's a great reason! I'm sure listening to the criminal is a great idea." Ressler replied sarcastically as he crossed his arms. Red didn't have the patience for this today.

"Honestly, Donald. Do you bitch about everything?" Red asked and Scarlet stood.

"Ok, guys, break it up before it gets nasty." Scarlet said as she started to move between them.

"So, common sense is bitching now?" Ressler asked and moved forward. The group watched as the tension escalated.

"Your 'common sense' is the entire reason that you got Audrey killed." Red said and everyone froze. Even Scarlet, who had heard Red say a lot of things, was shocked.

"Go." Scarlet ordered finally breaking the silence. "Just go before you get your ass kicked."

"Do you think that I'm afraid of hi-,"

"I never said that he'd be the one to do it." Scarlet stated. Well, there went the whole hopelessly in love act. "Now, go."

"You can't tell me what to do." Red replied hating the fact he sounded like a child. Scarlet crossed her arms over her chest. Red noticed the malicious glint in her. This wasn't going to end well.

"Either move or I tell them every embarrassing thing you've done in the past twenty years." Scarlet said. Red seemed to puff up his chest and cross his arms defiantly.

"You're bluffing."

"On my twenty first birthday, you decided to take me out for a few drinks. You got completely wasted and pissed your pants after falling off your bar stool." Scarlet said. Red looked slightly shocked. The group held back a snicker as Red turned to leave.

"So, Scarlet, what's with the outfit?" Donald asked. She reached up and pulled the wig off.

"It was Red's idea."

"Any chance of us getting a little dirt of Reddington?"

"As long as you ask me while I'm pissed,"

author's note_

This isn't as funny as I hoped. But, I need this chapter to set up a few funnier ones. I love Scarlet. I think that she's one of my favorite characters that I've thought up. :D


	9. pain

Donald watched as Scarlet typed on her phone. She would glance back and forth between the projected images and the device in her hand. Ressler wasn't sure what she was typing but guessed it was names being sent to Reddington.

"Come on," Scarlet muttered before her phone dinged. She smiled as she clicked to see the text. Her smile fell instantly.

"Having a hard time?" Donald asked as he leaned against the edge of the table. He crossed his arms and watched as the woman contemplated if she should throw her phone or not.

"I sent him like fifty names. You know what he replies?" She asked irritatedly. Ressler raised an eyebrow. "He said 'no'. And, that's all he said."

"So, you wanna tell us the names anyway?" Ressler asked in hopes of catching a few criminals. Scarlet sighed and rubbed her temples to get rid of a headache.

"No, Red would kill me if I did that. Well, not literally, but he'd be really pissed." She replied. She crossed her arms and thought for a moment. "I will tell you that when he's high off of pot, he acts like a five year old."

"That's...interesting?" Donald said a little confused by the information. He didn't really know what to do with it, now that he had it.

"Hey, four twenty is only two months away. You may get to see it for yourself." She said with a shrug. She tapped another message on her phone. She groaned when she got her reply. "Just let me take out one freakin guy!"

Raymond didn't like it when the people he went to meet had hired new young men as their bodyguards. He understood that they had to start at some point, but it put him on edge. It was nerve racking when someone would go for their gun, pepper spray, or whatever they had on them just because he had shifted positions.

That's what was happening now. It didn't help that his chair was uncomfortable. So, he had to keep moving, and the skinny little prick in the corner kept reaching for what Red assumed was a gun. He couldn't get a good enough look at it though.

"So, Raymond, what do I have to pay you to get into the U.S. unnoticed?" Asked Marius. He was a rather large man. He was good bit bigger than Raymond was. Red would have loved to rub that fact in Donald's face. Of course, that would never stop Ressler from dishing out fat jokes when the two got into an argument. Honestly though, was he that big?

"Do you just want in or do you want to be a citizen? That can make a lot of difference when you get to more populated areas." Red asked. He shifted his position as a spring stuck in his back. The man in the corner jumped causing Red to roll his eyes.

"Citizenship,"

"Depending on where you want to live and what career you want a head start in, that runs anywhere from one hundred thousand to two and a half million."

"All I have is fifty thousand."

"Fifty?!" Raymond nearly yelled. Marius really didn't understand the expenses of this job, did he? He made the mistake of standing and startling the man in the corner. He yelled as a bolt of pain went through him, and he fell to the floor.

Scarlet typed at her phone violently. She was getting irritated more and more by the second. Raymond had told her to keep him updated but wouldn't answer her texts. She nearly jumped out of her skin when the phone started ringing. She clicked the answer button and held the phone to her ear.

"Dembe?" Scarlet said and leaned on the table in front of her.

"How are things going?" Dembe asked. Scarlet bit her lower lip. Dembe only answered the phone when Red couldn't.

"Dembe, what's going on? Is Red okay?" Scarlet asked drawing Donald's attention. He figured if Red was hurt, he'd be in a bitchy mood when he got back.

"GAH! Damn it, Dembe! Hand me the ice! Don't just drop it!" Raymond shouted in the background loud enough that Donald could hear it.

"Mr. Reddington received a... slight injury." Dembe stated.

"Slight?! I can't feel my fucking crotch!" Raymond shouted. Donald raised an eyebrow and looked at Scarlet. She shrugged to show her confusion.

"Then, why are you so upset about me dropping the ice pack on it?" Dembe asked calmly. Red was silent. Scarlet could picture him sulking in the background.

"So, what happened?"

"He got tazed."

"In the crotch?"

"Yep," Dembe answered. There was a slight pause before Scarlet burst out laughing.

"Shut up!" Red yelled. "It's not funny!"

author's note_

Somehow, I feel like I should feel guilty for writing this...But, I don't. :D


	10. Not Buying It

"So, how's Reddington?" Donald asked. He didn't really care. He just wanted to make conversation with Scarlet. Maybe they could eventually talk about something other than Raymond. After all, Scarlet was beautiful, and Donald, who would never admit it, was a tad lonely.

"He says his crotch still hurts, but that's completely understandable." Scarlet replied. The two were walking towards the parking garage at the moment. Ressler was happy that they could have a little time alone. "Sorry but I don't think that you two will be getting to do anything for a while." Scarlet added. Ressler raised an eyebrow.

"I don't understand." He said and the two stopped. Scarlet reached into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out her keys.

"Well, he won't be back until the start of next month. He has to take a few days to heal up. Then, he has to work with his client about payment." She replied but Donald was still confused.

"What would we be doing if he was here?" Ressler asked. Scarlet bit her lower lip. How was she supposed to say this? She rubbed the back of her neck and gave him a crooked smile.

"Each other," she answered. Donald didn't look like he understood. Then, it dawned on him. His eyes widened. Had she really just said that he and Reddington had been sleeping together?

"We aren't together! What the hell has he been telling you?"

"He hasn't told me anything. You know, when you live with someone, you're usually having sex?"

"We're both straight!" Donald nearly yelled. Scarlet looked him up and down.

"I'm not buying it." She stated and started walking to her car. He couldn't let it end like this.

"Call Red. He'll tell you." He said and Scarlet sighed. She pulled her phone out and dialed. She out it on speaker and held it between them.

"What do you need, Scarlet?" Red asked who sounded like he was still in pain.

"Are you and Donald dating?" Scarlet asked bluntly. There was a pause on the other end.

"Scarlet, I think there's something wrong with the line." Red said with a small chuckle. "I could have sworn you just asked me if I was dating Ressler."

"I did. Now, answer the question."

"No! What the hell have you been smoking?" Red nearly yelled into the phone. They guessed that he had moved the wrong way because he yelped in pain.

"But McCarthy said that you two were the perfect couple." Scarlet said. Donald's gaze shot from the phone to her. "Well, she did."

"Who has she been telling?" Donald asked.

"Donald? When did you get there?" Red asked. "And, why haven't you been trying to talk some sense into her?"

"She wouldn't believe me."

"I still don't believe it. Don't worry. McCarthy only told me." Scarlet chimed in.

"Great job, Donald." Red said sarcastically. "In a few days, you convinced a woman you were gay."

"Hey! She thought you were gay too." Donald retorted and Red paused.

"Shut the hell up!"

"You shut up! You're the one who started it!"

"You two are a very dysfunctional couple." Scarlet broke in.

"WE'RE NOT GAY!" They both yelled in unison. Scarlet looked unimpressed.

"I'm still not buying it."


	11. Interrogation

Two weeks had passed. Herrik Lancaster had finally been caught. Donald didn't see why it had taken so long but was happy they had gotten a blacklister. Since Red wasn't back yet, Scarlet was going to have to get the information from him.

"Donald, I need you to do me a favor." Scarlet said and Ressler raised an eyebrow.

"What do you need?" He asked. He didn't think she would ask too much from him. She was too nice for that. But, he had to worry when someone who liked Reddington so much wanted him to do something.

"Can you go in to get the information for me?" She asked and bit her lower lip. Donald furrowed a brow. "I have a headset. So, I can tell you everything to do."

"Why can't you go in?" He asked. She chewed on her lip. She could lie. She sighed. It would go better if she just told him the truth.

"I have a reputation that I need to keep. Some of the guys at the bar aren't exactly model citizens. If I lose their trust, I'll get fired." She answered. Ressler watched her face for a moment as if to see if she was trying to trick him or not.

"What will I have to do?" He asked. Scarlet looked slightly relieved. She'd been worried that he'd want a list of the men at the bar.

"Just ask him who's running Operation Clydesdale." She replied causing him to look confused.

"What the hell is that?" He asked and she shrugged.

"Red wouldn't tell me."

"Did he know you were going to bring me into this?" Ressler questioned causing her to shrug again. She reached into her purse and grabbed an ear piece that looked a little like a blue tooth head set. She handed that one to him before grabbing the other for herself.

"Just tell him that you're speaking for someone who wants to remain anonymous." She said when she saw him giving her an odd look. She helped him adjust and turn on his ear piece before hurrying him to the door.

Ressler stepped inside and saw the man handcuffed to the table. He introduced himself and told him what Scarlet had told him to say. Then, he cringed when there was static coming from the device in his ear.

"Sorry," came Scarlet's voice from the device. "Now, ask him about Clydesdale."

"Who's running Operation Clydesdale?" Ressler asked. Herrik looked bored. He drummed his fingers on the table as if waiting for Donald to say something else. "Did you hear me?"

"You don't even know what that is." Herrik said. "Do you enjoy being used as a pawn?"

"Smack him!" Scarlet instructed.

"We just got here." Donald stated and Herrik raised an eyebrow.

"I beg your pardon?" He said. Ressler pointed to the ear piece. Herrik gave a slow nod.

"Now, tell me who's running Clydesdale. Just answer that. Then, you can leave."

"No,"

"I'm telling you, you're going to have to hit him." Scarlet said.

"We've only been here a minute!"

"I'm not very patient."

"I've noticed." Donald said. Scarlet was quiet for the next ten minutes of Donald's interrogation. Then, she couldn't stand it any longer.

"Ok, It's been ten minutes. Hit him already. Otherwise, he's not going to talk." She stated and Donald rolled his eyes. He went on telling Herrik that they'd leave him here until he'd told them what they wanted to know.

"Leave me as long as you want. It's rather nice in here. No loud and offending distraction, it's nice to be able to think." Herrik said. Donald heard Scarlet groan loudly. She didn't like letting Red down. She'd do this herself but couldn't because of her freakin job.

"Please, just hit him already." She whined causing Donald to roll his eyes.

"Why don't you come up with something else?" He asked. Herrik looked confused at first before remembering the ear piece.

"...Chinese water torture,"

"No,"

"Water boarding,"

"Negative,"

"That thing where you put them over a bamboo plant and it grows through them."

"...Now, you're just being sadistic." Donald stated and she groaned again. "Try something that doesn't involve torture."

"You could seduce him." She suggested.

"Hell no."

"Come on! Use what ever moves you used on Raymond."

"How many times do I have to fucking tell you that I'm not gay!" Ressler shouted. Herrik looked shocked. Apparently, he was missing an interesting conversation. Donald blushed slightly. Scarlet figured that she had better be quiet now.

Apparently, Donald's outburst had made Herrik uncomfortable enough that he gave up the information in less than an hour. Scarlet apologized several times. Herrik was taken from the interrogation room and was transferred to a holding room.

"I'm really sorry." Scarlet said again as she rummaged through her purse for her keys.

"It's fine, but I will want to come by and see your show sometime. Maybe I'll see some of these not exactly model citizens you were telling me about." Donald replied. Scarlet kept going through the bag. Where the hell were her keys?

"You know, there are cops that go there too? It's kind of a neutral territory."

"I'd still like to see your show."

"Alright, but any day besides Friday." She said and Donald furrowed his brow.

"Why?"

"I don't sing on Fridays." She said and glanced up at him before looking back in her purse. Maybe she had left them inside.

"...But Dembe saw your show on a Friday." Donald said. Scarlet's gaze snapped up to him. She looked like she was about to panic.

"What did he say?"

"I don't remember." Donald replied. Scarlet dropped her bag and grabbed him by the shoulders. She squeezed and shook him slightly.

"Donald, what did he say about the show?" Scarlet asked. She was wide eyed, and Ressler was worried that she'd start hyperventilating or something.

"He said he wasn't expecting that kind of music." Ressler answered. Scarlet looked relieved. She let out a long breath and let her head fall against his chest.

"Thank God."

"What were you so worried about?" He asked. Scarlet stood straight up and bit her lip. She rubbed the back of her neck before she decided that she could trust him with the truth.

"On Fridays, I don't sing. I... I strip." She said and chewed on her lip again. "If Red found out about that, he'd be really pissed at me."

"Why?"

"It's a long story. I just know that he'd be really disappointed in me. Ju-Just don't tell him, please." She said. Donald gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"On one condition," he stated while giving her a small smile. She looked up at him as if asking 'what?'. "Stop saying that me and Reddington are a couple." He said and she smiled. She wrapped her arms around his torso before he could protest. Well, he wouldn't have protested, but she wasn't taking any risks.

"Deal,"

author's note_

Scarlet's story will be revealed eventually. I don't know at what point exactly though. Also, when I use her in a real book, her back story will change. Obviously, she won't have Red because that, my dear friends, would be plagiarism. Don't worry. She will always have her slightly crazy personality and the habit of pointing out men to call gay. :D Sadly, that book will not be done for a long long long time. I have too many other story ideas to work on, plus this one.


	12. Red is back

Donald and the rest of the group watched Scarlet running back and forth between rooms. At one point, Aram even had to pull Liz out of the way. Scarlet had yelled an apology but wasn't slowing down.

"What is she doing?" Harold asked as Scarlet gathered papers together.

"She said Reddington's getting back in today." Donald answered. Scarlet apparently had forgotten something in the other room. With the papers clutched to her chest, she took off again. She lost her footing when she stepped on a power cord and fell. The papers flew in every direction.

"But why is she going into panic mode?" Meera asked as Aram moved to help Scarlet up. It wasn't long before she was running again.

"I don't really know. I guess she wants to impress him." Donald answered. Scarlet walked back into the room and dropped down into a chair.

"I got everything in order." She said with a smile. She looked exhausted. Then, her smile faded. "Donald, can you do something for me?" She asked and Donald crossed his arms.

"Just as long as it's not a repeat of two weeks ago." He replied. He didn't think that he could deal with her telling him to try and seduce a man.

"No, it's nothing like that. I just need you to not mock Red when he comes in." She said. "I know you two usually end up insulting each other."

"...Ok. What am I not mocking him about? Did he get a sunburn or something?" Ressler asked and Scarlet bit her lip. Somehow, this felt awkward to discuss in front of everyone.

"I don't think so." She said. "I don't even know if it happened or not, but usually when Red comes back from a trip, he's a little... uh... bigger." She finished. Liz and Meera exchanged glances and held back a laugh. The three men kept a completely serious look.

"In other words, he got fat." Donald said. Scarlet looked like it pained her a little.

"I wouldn't say that. He never really gets fat. He justs get kind of. uh..."

"Chubby?" Liz asked and Scarlet gave a small nod. She looked at her watch.

"He should be here any minute. Aram can you pull up footage from the parking garage? I want to see what we're up against here." Scarlet asked. Aram nodded and went to his computer. With a few clicks, he could see the car parking.

Scarlet stood behind Aram and watched. The rest of the group watched as Aram and Scarlet jumped and stared wide eyed. Aram looked up at Scarlet. She looked like she wanted to throw up.

"What the fuck did he do?" She asked and leaned down. "Did he go to Cuba or did he eat it?"

"I think that's the meanest thing I've heard her say." Meera commented to Liz who nodded. Scarlet moved over to Donald.

"I need a few minutes to let this sink in." She said. Donald thought that understandable. Of course, he hadn't seen what Aram and Scarlet had. "Red's just gonna want to know this guy's name. It's Tobby Bard. Can you remember that?"

Donald nodded and Scarlet left the room. The other members left after a minute or two because of other jobs that needed to be done. Donald picked up a file and was going to put it away but didn't get to it. He was too caught off guard by Reddington standing in the doorway.

"Where's Scarlet? I need to get that name from her." Red said. Ressler didn't hear a word that he said. He was too distracted. Scarlet had been right to be as shocked as she was. Reddington's belly was sticking out a good bit more than it had been when he left. Donald couldn't help but stare at it.

"Donald!"

"What?" Ressler nearly yelled. His gaze shooting up to Red's face. Somehow his face didn't look any different. Donald had expected his cheeks to have been a little bigger but they hadn't changed a bit.

"I need the name that Scarlet got from Herrik. Do you know it?" Red asked. It would save him having to hunt down the woman.

"Yeah, It- It's... uh... uh.. Chubby."

"Excuse me?" Red asked and raised an eyebrow.

"I mean it's Tubby. Gah! I mean it's Tobby." Ressler said mentaly cursing himself as he leaned back against his desk. His eyes wandered back down to Red's stomach. How in the hell was it even possible to put on that much weight in that little time? He almost felt bad for the buttons that had to hold the front of his vest together. They looked like they'd pop off at any time now.

"What's the last name?" Reddington asked. He crossed his arms over his chest. The action made his vest ride up to show more of his white button up shirt underneath.

"Lard,"

"What?"

"Bard. I said Bard." Ressler said.

"Are you trying to tell me something, Donald?" Red asked. Ressler looked like he wanted to vomit. He rubbed his temple before looking back at the older man.

"You know what? Fuck this!" Donald replied and stood back up straight. "Listen, I'm not saying this to be mean. I'm saying this because this isn't fucking healthy. You put on a LOT of weight while you were in Cuba."

Donald expected Red to try and hit him. He expected him to at least call him a dumb ass or something. Instead, he chuckled.

"What the hell are you laughing at?" Ressler asked.

"April fools, Donald." Red stated still laughing. He pointed to the curve of his belly. "It's pading."

"You son of a bitch." Ressler said but cracked a smile. "You got me on this one. Nice touch getting Scarlet in on it too."

"Yes," Red said as he finally stopped laughing. He kept his smile up despite having no idea what Ressler was talking about. "So, what did Scarlet do? I just told her what I was going to do. I never really got to discuss her part of this." He lied and scratched the back of his neck.

"She said that you always gain a few pounds after you go on a trip." He answered and chuckled. "Then, she had Aram pull up the footage from outside. The fake meltdown and having to leave was a good touch." He added. Red gave a fake chuckle.

"You've always got to admire her acting abilities." Red stated. He pushed at the side of his pading. "I've got to get this thing off. It's really starting to itch." He said and started to unbutton his vest.

"Ressler," Liz said as she looked inside. She gave Red's fake belly a quick surprised glance before looking back to Donald. "We need you in the conference room." She said and ducked out. Ressler followed close behind while Red got the offending material out of his shirt.

He pulled the the padding out before he scratched his stomach. Why the hell was this so itchy? He dropped it in a nearby chair and buttoned his shirt and vest back up. He was about to leave when he noticed the file that Donald had dropped.

"Why can't people pick up after themselves?" He asked himself as he moved over to the paper. He frowned when he remember what Ressler had said about Scarlet. "What the hell does she mean I always gain a few pounds?" He said as he bent to pick up the folder. Right as his hands touched the paper, he heard a loud rip as the fabric of his pants split. His face turned a bright red as he muttered, "Oh, that's what she meant."

Author's note_

I'm sorry but I couldn't pass this up. It matched the little timeline thing I've got planned out. Plus, I can picture this being one of Red's little weaknesses. He would want to see the culture of where he's going. Part of that culture happens to be the food.

Anyway I hope you guys enjoyed this. Thanks to everyone who leaves reviews on these. They mean a lot. :D


	13. gym

Red looked around quickly before entering the large gym. He didn't want anyone to know that he was there. Luckily, the building was empty.

He chewed on his lower lip as he looked at the different options in front of him. He had three sections to choose from. There was a cardio section that had the treadmills, stair steppers, and other things of that nature. There was one that had different machines that worked different muscle groups. Then, the last section was the weights.

He looked back at the front door before moving to one of the benches. This was the only section that he really had interest in. Plus, the support wall in the middle blocked him from view of the front door. So, if anyone from the FBI happened to be walking by on their way to a store, they wouldn't notice him. He had barely been able to hide the fact that he had ripped his pants the day before. He didn't need anyone knowing that he had started to worry about his weight.

Besides, it wasn't like he was really fat. He just had a little extra on him. The fact that he had gained about five pounds over a month trip wasn't really that bad either. But, now that he knew it was there, he wanted it gone.

He placed weights onto the bar before he laid down on the bench beneath it. He put his hands on the metal bar. He gripped it tight before pushing it up and over the holders. He brought it down and then pushed... Fuck, it wasn't going back up.

Raymond strained against the weight that was trying to come down on his chest. He groaned and let out a breath that he didn't realize he had been holding. This had been a bad idea. He should have started with something smaller.

He kept trying to push up as a string of profanities spilled from his mouth. His left leg flailed as he tried to get some momentum to get this damned thing off of himself. Dembe was outside and couldn't see him. There was no one else inside to help him. And, damn it, he couldn't get it to move.

The metal came down at an odd angle. It landed on his stomach causing the air to get knocked out of him. He huffed as he tried to push the bar off to no avail. His heart pounded in his ears blocking the sound of someone running towards him. He felt the bar being lifted off of him before he even knew anyone was there.

Red cursed mentally when he saw that it was Donald who had come to his rescue. NO! Not his rescue! He would have been fine on his own. Of course, the fact that he hadn't caught his breath didn't help his case.

"Are you dying?" Donald asked looking down at the huffing man worriedly. Red glared up at him. Since he couldn't insult him yet, Red flipped Donald the bird and went about his panting. "I'll take that as a no." He said and put the bar back in it's place. Red caught his breath finally and looked up at the FBI agent.

"What are you doing here?" Red asked staying on his back. He wasn't up to getting up yet.

"I come here four times a week. What are you doing here? Is someone finally worried about that gut?" He asked giving Red's stomach a quick jab with his finger. Raymond bolted into a sitting position narrowly missing hitting the bar with his head.

"Don't do that!" Red snapped. Donald rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"You know, there's this thing called a spotter. They make sure you don't die while you're lifting weights. You may want to look into one." Donald stated. Red turned his head when he heard that someone was on the treadmill.

"Who's over there?"

"Scarlet." Donald answered. Ah fuck. Red didn't want Scarlet to know he was there.

"Since when does she come here?" Red asked and Donald shrugged.

"I've been coming here for years." Scarlet yelled to where they could hear her.

"How did she-,"

"There's a mirror on the wall. I can see you." She yelled back. Red still didn't know how she could hear him. He looked at Donald as if for answers. The FBI agent just shrugged and walked back over to the treadmills. Red followed. He wasn't up to nearly being crushed again.

"Come on, old man. Keep up." Donald said with a smirk as he sped up the machine he was on. Red shook his head but moved faster any way. Donald smirked and put the speed up another level.

"You aren't going to let me out do you, are you, Donald?" Red asked mockingly. He tried to ignore the fact that Scarlet was going faster than either of them. Donald wanted to wipe the smirk off of Red's face. Both men pushed their speeds up a little more.

It wasn't long before both of them felt like their lungs were burning. This had been an awful idea. But, neither wanted to be out done. Scarlet stopped the machine she was on and stepped.

"I'm gonna go to the zumba class. You two keep it up." Scarlet said. she started to walk by them but stopped. She glanced at the settings on both of their treadmills. "You guys know that you get a better work out if you raise the elevation right?" She added before leaving.

Scarlet was gone for half an hour. When she came back, she heard that the treadmills were still running, but no one was on them. Where had Red and Donald gone? She stepped closer and saw that the two men were laying flat on their backs. Their chests were heaving in an attempt to get air, and their faces were blood red.

"I lasted longer." Donald said weakly.

"Like hell you did." Red replied and took a series of deep breaths. "You fell first."

"No, you did." Donald said. Scarlet stared at the two while they continued their breathless bickering. She shook her head.

"Men," she muttered before walking away.

author's note_

I see this all the time at the gym. People push themselves too far. Then, they sound or look like their dying. Some of it's actually kind of funny. One of the guys who does this looks just like Beverly from 'Will and Grace'. It's even more funny because there's another guy who's like six foot three or four following around the Beverly look alike(he's maybe five foot two) and trying to outdo him. He fails every time, and this happens on a weekly basis.


	14. waking up

Red's head was pounding. What had he done last night? Why did he feel like he wanted to puke? All he knew was he'd have to get up soon and make some toast to settle his stomach.

"Red?" Asked a voice in the distance as someone shook him by the shoulder. He felt like he was going to vomit. He swatted at their hand.

"Go away, Dembe." He muttered.

"Dembe? I'm Donald." Said the voice. Red opened his eyes to a squint. Sure enough, it was Donald.

"What are you doing here?" Red asked and covered his face with his arm. Ressler paused in confusion.

"Uh... I live here." He answered. Red gave a loud sigh. He uncovered his eyes and started to sit up.

"Donald you're delusional. I live...here?" Red said as he looked around. "What the hell?" He wasn't at his hideout. This was Donald's apartment. He was in... oh fuck. He was in Donald's bed.

"Why do you smell like pot and booze?" Donald asked.

"Yesterday was four twenty. Did you honestly think I wouldn't be participating?" Red asked. Maybe she should have passed on it this year. It wasn't affecting him that well.

"Well, I just didn't expect to wake up next to a criminal." Donald replied. "When did you get here? Why the hell did you even come here? How did you get in?"

"One question at a time, Donald." He put his head in his hands. He thought over the questions as he tried to fend back the headache that had already formed. "All I know is that I blacked out. I don't remember coming here or why."

"Can you at least tell me why you didn't wear any clothes?" Donald asked. Red looked down at himself. His face turned red. Well, this was embarrassing. He took a quick glance at Donald to see that he had turned his head towards the wall. Somehow, that made him feel even worse. He grabbed part of the covers and pulled it up to cover himself.

"I wish I knew that one myself." Red muttered. Oh God. He'd probably walked here naked! How many people had seen him? Where had he gone before he came here? Why the fuck had he come here? "May I use your phone?"

"Yeah, it's in the living room." Donald replied. Red wrapped the blanket around his waist as he stood. He walked into the living room. He'd just call Dembe and have him bring some clothes. He'd understand.

He started for the phone when he noticed that the front door was open. Should he close it or leave it. It was still dark outside. Surely, he could make a quick call before closing it. Of course, he was wrong. Just as Donald entered the room, they heard someone running down the hall.

Scarlet nearly crashed into the door frame as she stopped. She tried to catch her breath. The two men stared at her with wide eyes.

"Donald, Dembe said that Red's missing. Do you know wh-... Whoa." Scarlet stated. She glanced back and forth between the two. She saw that Donald was in his boxers while Red was more than likely completely naked.

"It's not what it looks it." Donald stated as his and Raymond's cheeks reddened.

"You two are making this too damn hard for me not to call you gay."

author's note_

This isn't my best chapter but I wanted to have something like this. I can picture Red going to Donald after he got drunk and/or high. This was actually a good bit better than what I nearly uploaded. I apparently really suck at writing about people getting high.

If you guys want me to come up with something with Red high (and bugging Donald) tell me in reviews or a private message. I'll look up some stuff and write something as an extra chapter or something. :)


	15. high

It was six in the afternoon that someone came beating on his door. He had opened it. Who was standing there with his usual smug grin? Raymond fucking Reddington. Seriously, was this guy getting attached to Donald or did he just like bugging him?

"Let's go have some fun, Donald." Red said. That stupid little grin was already getting on Ressler's nerves.

"Go where?" Ressler asked. He'd had a rather rough day at work. He didn't need Red dragging him to God knows where. "And do what?"

"I'm sure you'll enjoy it, but it's a surprise." Red replied. Donald gave him a look and crossed his arms. "No one is gonna die. No one should even get hurt." Raymond stated.

Donald uncrossed his arms and stepped out into the hallway. He locked the door behind him. He knew that it should have taken a lot more persuading to get him to do this. Maybe he was just doing this because he had his gun and didn't see Dembe anywhere... Wait, was it a bad sign that he couldn't see him?

"So, where's Dembe?" Ressler asked as the two walked towards the elevator. Red clicked the down button before looking over to Donald.

"I gave him the night off."

"So, why are you taking me anywhere?" Ressler asked giving Red another suspicious look.

"Oh, don't be so cynical, Donald. It doesn't take number four on the most wanted list to see that you had a bad day at work. Someone might as well let you have a good time." Red replied as the two stepped inside the elavator.

So, this was for Donald's sake. Damn it! Red was trying to do him another favor. When was he going to learn that these little favors of his never ended well for either of them? Regardless, Donald followed along. Hopefully, like Red said, no one would get hurt or die.

So, Red's idea of a good time was going to a bar. Some how that didn't shock Donald. He was just worried as to who was supposed to drive them back. Since he didn't think Red was going to pass up a few drinks, Donald decided that he wasn't going to get anything. Red ordered a drink before getting up to go to the bathroom.

Donald looked around the room. He stopped when he saw Scarlet. She spotted him and walked over.

"I didn't know this was where you worked." Donald commented.

"Yeah," she said looking a little uncomfortable. "And you came on a Friday." She stated. Ressler furrowed his brow before he realized what she meant.

"Oh fuck. Red's here." Donald said. Scarlet chewed on her lower lip. The bartender sat down a drink.

"Is that his?" Scarlet asked. Donald nodded, and Scarlet opened her purse. She pulled out a small pill and dropped it into the drink. Donald furrowed his brow.

"What was that?" He asked.

"It's just something we give people when they've had enough. I'm only giving it to Red because if he sees my show, he'll kill me. I don't mean that figuratively either." She replied.

"What does it do?"

"It'll make him high." She answered. She gave a bright smile when she noticed Reddington walking their way. She hugged him before he sat down.

"Sorry it's taken me this long for me to see your show." Red stated. He lifted his drink and took a sip.

"It's fine. I hope you like it." She replied. Ressler watched as Red down the rest of the small drink. He looked a little confused as he rubbed his forehead.

"That was a pretty strong drink." He said. He leaned against the bar and laughed. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say it was spiked." He muttered. He rubbed the back of his head as the pill clouded his mind.

"I'm sorry." Scarlet said. She put a hand on his shoulder and kissed the top of his head. "Donald, can you take him home?"

"Yeah,"

"Thank you so much." She said before having to leave. Red sat back up and nearly fell off of his stool. Donald grabbed onto his arm to help him stay up.

"I think we had better get going." Donald stated. Red looked over at him. He blinked as if to clear his head before he nodded.

Ressler had thought that he'd have to help Reddington stay on his feet. The truth was he had to hold onto him to keep him from wandering away. Ressler wound his arm around the other man's waist to keep a good grip on him. Red had just laughed and put an arm around Donald's shoulder. It was a little difficult to walk like this with the height difference but they managed.

Getting Red up into the passenger seat had been exceptionally easy. The problem was to keep him from trying to get into driver's seat. Donald hooked Red's seat belt. Some how that detered the criminal. Ressler got inside and started driving.

Red watched him intently which made him uncomfortable. Then, Red reached over and took Donald's hand in his own. Ressler raised an eyebrow as Red started to play with his fingers.

"Fingers are weird." Red muttered.

"...That's nice." Donald's phone rang. With a little difficulty, he got his hand back and answered his phone. "Donald Ressler,"

"Hey, it's Liz. We need you to come in. We have a lead on a man named Joseph Parkinson."

"I can't come in just yet."

"Donald," Red whined. "Where are we going?"

"Was that Reddington?" Liz asked. Donald paused. How was he supposed to tell her that Scarlet had drugged Red to save her own life.

"It's a long story."

"Well, we need you here. Bring Reddington with you. He might know something we don't."

"Liz, I really don't think that he'd be of much use to us right now."

"Why?"

"...He... He's high."

"Just bring him. If it gets too bad we can just put him in the box."

"You asked for it." Ressler said and hung up. He looked over at Red. He was staring at the city lights like he had made some giant discovery.

"Donal," Red said apparently unable to finish his name. "It look like stars." He added before laughing madly. This was going to be a long night.

Donald had hoped that he could make it inside without Red following him. Sadly, he wasn't even halfway there before Red came hurrying after him calling, 'Donal, wait up!' Ressler wouldn't have minded too much if it hadn't been the fact Red had wrapped his arms around his waist from the back and refused to let go.

After a good ten minutes of trying to get the criminal off, Ressler gave up. It was hard walking around but the two managed. He tried to ignore the amused looks he got when he had to drag the giggling criminal into the room.

"So, you wanna tell us how this happened?" Liz asked with a half smile.

"Just ask Scarlet the next time you see her." Donald replied. He gave a tug at Red's arms but, as he suspected, they weren't coming off. "Tell me about this Joseph guy."

"Are you sure that you can focus with that new belt of yours?" Meera mocked causing a laugh to come from Liz and Aram. Red looked up with a confused expression. He leaned his head over on Donald's shoulder.

"Apparently, I'm the only one who can focus. Get off of me!" Donald yelled. He slapped at Red's hand until he finally let go. Why the hell hadn't that worked before they got in here? Red stepped back and looked as though he was going to pout. "Can we get this meeting over with?"

"Fine, fine," Liz said and motioned towards the projected image. "Parkinson is running a drug and prostitution ring in one of the southern states. We don't know which one though. We needed to see if Reddington knew any of the details."

"So...You called me?" Donald asked. He didn't spend that much time with Reddington, did he? He blushed at the look that Meera and Liz exchanged. He guessed that they thought he did spend a lot of time with him.

The projected image gave a weird flash. Donald stared at it until he realized that someone was waving their hand in front of the projector. He spun around to the Red with his hand in front of the light. From his look of awe, it was easy to tell he was high as a kite. Donald huffed and walked back to him.

Red never took his eyes off the projected image until Donald grabbed onto his wrist and pulled him over to a chair. He made him sit down.

"Now, stay there and don't touch anything." Donald hissed. He didn't think that any of it sank in. He sighed. This was starting to work on his nerves. He turned to walk back to the group. He yelped when Reddington grabbed onto his belt and jerked him backwards.

He landed in Red's lap. He groaned in annoyance when he felt Red's arms wrap back around his waist. He tried to pry them off, but Red wouldn't let go.

"Awww, that's so sweet." Liz mocked. Donald glared at her while Red laid his head against Ressler's back. Why the hell was he so clingy? And why couldn't he be clingy to someone else.

"Shut up. This isn't funny." Ressler said and made another attempt to escape. He only succeded in Reddington tightening his grip. Donald huffed. This was going to take a while.

At some point in the past hour, Red had fallen asleep. Somehow, his grip hadn't loosened. So, Donald had been stuck the entire time. When Red woke up, he had his head leaned against Donald's back. He moved and stared at the back of Donald's head. What the hell was he looking at? Oh, fuck!

"Get off of me!" Red yelled and pushed Donald. He yelped as he was pushed off on his ass. Red stood and moved away from him. "What the hell happened?"

"I don't really know." Donald replied. He stood up and crossed his arms.

"Why were you in my lap?"

"I," Donald started but stopped. He looked pissed. "You know what? You've done nothing but cling to me for the past hour and a half. Now, you just pushed me on my ass. So, I'm not answering any of your fucking questions."

"But,"

"Nope."

"Dona-,"

"I said no."

author's note_

I hope some of you enjoyed this, especially the ones that said that they would like reading about drunk and/or high Red. It still feels a bit awkward to me, but this is how I picture Red when he's high. Just as a note, Scarlet really wouldn't want to do this to Red, but she also doesn't want him to know about her job.

This is kind of random, but I recently (it was actually a month ago) sent a story that I wrote to a publisher. I just got the results back. I was turned down, and it's bugging me that I got absolutely no feedback. I enjoy writing, and I want to get better at it. So, I would appreciate if you guys would tell me what you think of my writing style or what you think I could do to get better.

I'm still going to keep writing. Being turned down isn't going to stop me. I just want to know what I need to work on.

Again, thanks to everyone who reads these. :D


	16. travel

"Joseph Parkinson, last time I heard, is living in northern Mississippi. I wouldn't suggest going after him like you would a crook here in the city." Red stated as he looked up at the picture. The man had cold blue eyes and jet black hair.

"Why is that?" Meera asked. Red glanced in her direction but talked as if addressing the entire group.

"Have you ever seen a picture of the south? There woods everywhere. If he hears anyone coming, he'll be gone in a second with no hopes of being found."

"What do you suggest we do then?" Donald asked. Unlike with Meera, Red didn't turn to look at Ressler.

"I say that I arrange a meeting with Joseph. I can take one of you with me. Then, you can make an arest when the time comes." Red replied and Donald smirked.

"You just want to get a trip out of this." Donald stated but Red ignored me. Instead, he looked to Liz.

"You should come. I think you'd enjoy seeing the more rural side of the country." He said but Liz looked uninterested.

"I'm actually going to spend the weekend with Tom." She said. Red looked a little disappointed. His gaze moved to Meera as if asking her if she'd want to go.

"I need to stay with my daughter." She said and Red's usual smug grin had completely faded.

"I'm stuck with Ressler, aren't I?" He asked and the two girls nodded.

Ressler was happy to get out of the office but was unhappy he had to spend that time with Reddington. Either way, he was currently driving to Mississippi with no one but Red. Dembe had other business to attend to. What that business was, he had no idea.

"How much longer is it going to take to get there?" Donald asked. They'd been driving for hours. Honestly, the driving was starting to get on his nerves more than Red's constant yakking. Apparently, this made him think of about a billion trips that he had been on and most featured at least one nude female. How would Liz or Meera have dealt with this?

"I don't know. I've never traveled to the south." Red replied with and Donald glanced over at him.

"What? Was this the only place you've been avoiding?" Donald asked. He had thought that of all the places that Red had traveled to, this would have been one of them.

"I've been busy with other things, Donald. Besides, from what I've heard, the south is mostly trees, and I'm starting to believe them." He said looking out the window. They were surrounded by trees and there wasn't a car in sight. "Are we even on the main road anymore?"

"It's paved. That's all I can tell you."

"There's a house up here. Stop and ask for directions." Red said. Donald rolled his eyes but complied. He pulled off in front of an old looking house. It wasn't run down. It just looked like it had been there a while.

A brunette teen was sitting in the porch swing. She sway her bare feet back and forth occasionally brushing her foot against the cool concrete porch. Red leaned in closer to Donald as they walked towards the girl.

"I'll bet you twenty bucks that she says y'all." Red said and Donald gave him an odd look.

"I'll pass." Donald stated. He looked back up to the girl. "Excuse me, can you give us directions?"

"Sure," she said. "Where are you two going?"

"Mississippi," Donald answered. The girl put her feet down to stop herself. She raised an eyebrow before standing up.

"Come with me." She instructed before going inside. Red and Donald exchanged glances before following the girl. She had pulled out a large map and was pointing to the top corner of Mississippi. "This is where you are."

"When the hell did we get there?" Red asked in shocked. "Pardon my language."

"Don't worry about it. So, does this help you two any?" She asked and the two nodded. "Great, if you need any directions, I'd be happy to help you out."

"I think we're good now. It's a pretty straight shot to where we're headed." Donald stated. "Thanks,"

"No problem," she said. The two started for the doorway. "I've got one warning though about people around here." The two turned and looked back at her. "Some of the people don't really take kindly to gay people."

author's note_

I happen to live in Mississippi. So, I described where I live. I thought it would be kind of fun to bring Donald and Red into where I live. What I said about 'people don't take kindly to gay people' is kind of true and kind of not. My friends and I have no problem with it.(One of my friends happens to be a gay guy and I fricken love him :D. He's also the openly gay guy in my entire school) But, then you have the homophobes(most of which are rednecks) who despise anything that could remotely be considered gay.

Also, the girl is loosely based off of myself. How ever I would not automatically assume someone was gay... Well, there are times but I wouldn't say something like this to them without knowing for sure. Hope you enjoyed this. Better chapters will come soon. I had to have this one to set up a few bigger chapters.


	17. motel problems

Donald and Red had found the house that Joseph Parkinson was staying in. Unfortunately, Red's meeting with him wasn't until tomorrow. Since it was getting late, the two decided it was best if they found a hotel.

They pulled up in front of a run down motel. It didn't look too good, but it was all they were going to find. Red got out and went inside. He had dragged Donald along on this trip. So, he was going to take care of business for the two of them.

The small lobby was highly air conditioned which seemed odd to Red seeing as how it was still spring. He walked up to the front desk and waited for the woman behind it to get done with her phone call. She finished and smile up at him.

"How man I help you?" She asked in a perky tone.

"I need two rooms." Red stated and the woman's smile faltered a little. "Is there a problem?"

"We only have one room left." She stated. Red chewed on the inside of his jaw. Donald was going to be pissed that the two had to share a room. Of course, he was going to be pissed if he came back out and told him that they had to keep driving for God knows how long. The first option would be easier on both of them.

"We can make due with the one room." Red stated before he paid and got the key to the room. He walked outside and told Ressler what had happened. Donald had replied with an annoyed groan. Regardless, he got out of the car, grabbed the things that they had brought with them, and followed Red to the room.

"What time is check out?" Donald asked as Red unlocked the door.

"Twelv- hell," Red said as he swung the door open.

"What is it... ah piss," Donald said as he saw the small room. Of course, the only room left was one with only one bed. "Didn't she say anything about this?"

"She didn't mention it." Red replied with a sigh. "We might as well make the best of it. After all, what's the worst that could happen?"

"Don't ask that. Anytime someone asks that, things go horribly wrong." Donald stated. He sat the bags down before moving to the bed. Honestly, he was too tired to care right now if he had to share a bed or not. Red got in on the other side after the light had been turned off. The motel might have been run down but the beds felt like heaven.

After a minute or two, Red gave a quick laugh. Donald glanced over but couldn't see anything because of how dark it was. He asked, "What's so funny?"

"Just imagine if Scarlet knew about this." Red stated causing Donald to smile. It would be embarrassing but seeing her reaction would be hilarious in the long run. Red sighed and chewed on the inside of his jaw. "You've gotten to know her. Do you think she'll be ok working at that bar?"

"...I don't understand."

"A lot of those men are petty criminals, and she's a beautiful woman. What if she's up there singing and one of them decides that they want to... you know,"

"You're afraid that she's gonna get raped?" Donald asked. Red was silent for a moment.

"Yes," he finally answered. Donald furrowed his brow. Was Reddington actually letting him in on something he cared about? Maybe it was because he knew Donald wouldn't use Scarlet against him. Either way, this seemed odd to him.

"Have you talked to her about this?"

"She knows how I feel on the matter. It'd be hard not to with what she's been through."

"What has she been through?" Donald asked but Red didn't reply. "Red?"

"I've said too much already." He said and turned his back to Ressler. The FBI agent glared at him. That was just rude. He had thought that he was about to get some answers, but Red wasn't going to allow it. At least he knew that the crimanal had fears. It let him know he was human.

The two eventually fell asleep. When Red woke up, he wasn't entirely sure where he was. All he knew was that he was laying on an unnaturally soft bed while someone snored next to his ear. It took him a moment to realize that he had somehow wound up curled up against Donald's chest. One of Ressler's arms were laid over Reddington's side while the other was under his head.

Red felt slightly panicked. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to get out of this without waking Donald. He also hated himself for realizing that this position was far too comfortable. He shifted in an attempted get away. He cursed mentally when he felt Donald move his arm farther around him and tilted his head down to where his chin rested on the top of Reddington's head. If it hadn't been for the snoring, Red would have thought that Donald was just trying to screw with him.

Maybe he could just stay here until Donald woke up. Then, he'd pretend he was asleep, and Donald would devise his own escape plan. This plan was thrown away when Donald's hand slid downwards and rested on his ass. He couldn't wait that long. He had to get the other man to wake up now without him knowing that Red had been the one to wake him up.

Red thought for a second before he finally just bumped Donald's chin with his head. Nothing. He did it again only a little harder. Red gasped when Donald's had gave a reflexive squeeze from him being struck even if it had been a gentle hit. His hand relaxed after a moment but Donald was still snoring. Red refrained from bumping his chin again. He couldn't deal with his ass being grabbed again.

"Donald!" Red exclaimed before closing his eyes and faking a snore.

"WHA? Who?" Donald yelped. He took in a few deep breaths, and for a moment, leaned heavily on Red. Raymond refrained from groaning in annoyance. Instead, he gave a loud fake snore to get the man's attention. Donald glanced down before jumping back.

Red tried to ignore the fact that the jump had made Ressler give his ass a tight squeeze before his hand was removed. That had been the very thing he was trying to avoid! Now, he just had to fake snore until Ressler got away from him... Why wasn't he moving? Damn it! He was still laying on Ressler's arm. He wouldn't be able to move.

He was going to lay there until Ressler thought of something. This might take a while. Or maybe not. He yelped and bolted into a sitting position. He rubbed his belly as he looked down at Ressler who was pretending to be asleep. The bastard had slapped him in the stomach. Red guessed that Donald was starting to learn a little about how to get things done. He'd have been proud if it weren't for the fact it had just been used against him.

author's note_

Yes, I know this is like chapter six. I like this a lot more because neither of them were screwing around with the other. This had just been unintentional cuddling...and ass grabbing :D


	18. The River

Joseph had called early that morning. The meeting was going to have to wait until tomorrow. So, Donald and Red had an entire day to kill. What they were going to do, they didn't know, but they had to do something. They couldn't just stay locked up in the motel room all day.

"I suppose we could just drive around and see what we can find." Red suggested. Donald had no arguments. Red had opened the door to go out when the two of them were heat by a wave of heat. They were taken aback for a second. Regardless, they went outside and got into the car.

Donald turned on the air. When had it gotten so hot? It had been fine the day before. All they could do was ride around for a while. Then, while they were passing over a bridge, Donald got an idea. He pulled off to the side of the road and parked the car.

"Why are we stopping?" Red asked and looked over at the other man.

"Why don't we go for a swim?" Donald asked and Red raised and eyebrow. "It'll help pass some time and it'll cool us off."

"Fine, whatever you want." Red replied with a shrug. Donald killed the engine before the two stepped out. The temperature had risen even higher than it was when they had left the hotel. This was spring! Why did it feel like the middle of summer?

They walked down to the side of the shallow river. The current was slow but fast enough that it was best to not get too at ease. Donald started to unbutton his shirt when he reached the very edge of the water. Red followed suit and worked on his vest. Donald pulled his shoes, socks, and pants off and dropped them off to the side before wading into the water.

"It's cold!"

"Good," Red said as he joined the other man. The cool water rushed past them. "Oh my God, I needed this." He moved to a section where he could sit on the bottom without getting pulled away. He was up to his neck in the refreshing water.

"I wonder why there isn't anybody else out here." Donald said as he joined the older man.

"They live here, Donald. They're used to it."

"It wasn't like this yesterday."

"So, they have odd weather. I'm just going to sit here and enjoy this." Red stated. He felt around on the bottom and picked up a flat stone. He lifted it up and flung it. It skipped across the water a few times before sinking back down. "I wonder what it's like here in the winter."

"Probably freezing one day and scorching hot the next," Donald replied causing Red to give a laugh.

The two sat there for quite a while just chatting. When this was over, neither was going to admit that they had enjoyed the other's company. The sun was starting to set before they finally decided it was time to leave. It wasn't until they started to move around that they realized that they had both gotten sunburns.

"This is going to hurt tomorrow." Donald commented as he looked at his arms. He glanced at Reddington and held back a chuckle. He had gotten it worse than Donald. He might as well laugh now. Red would probably be bitching tomorrow. At the moment, Red didn't seem interested in his slightly burnt skin. He was staring at the bank.

"Donald,"

"Yeah?"

"Where are our clothes?" He asked. Donald looked around and saw that their clothes had gone missing. On closer inspection, they saw that there were dog tracks around where they had left them. The only thing that hadn't been taken was Red's fedora. He bent down and picked it up.

"Oh shit!" He yelped when he saw that there was a snake underneath it. He staggered backwards into Donald. The two fell backwards into some small plants, and the snake slithered away.

"Nice going!"

"Oh shut up, Donald!" Red snapped as the two got to their feet. "Let's just get back to the motel. Then, we can get the extra clothes we brought."

"One problem,"

"What's that?"

"The key was in your pocket."

"Fuck!" Red yelled. "Damn it! We're gonna have to go in and get another one."

"Well, that should be fun." Donald replied sarcastically.

The two went back up the hill and got into the car. At least it had cooled off a little. They drove back to the motel and parked out front.

"Alright, when those people leave, go inside and get a key." Red instructed.

"I didn't go in when you got the room. She won't give me a key."

"I'm not going in alone!"

"Fine! We both go." Donald said. Red opened his door and started to get out. "Hold on." Red turned back around but left his door open.

"What?"

"Why do you always end up naked in front of me?" He asked causing Red to roll his eyes.

"I'm not naked. I'm wearing underwear."

"You do realize that white underwear is clingy and see through when it's wet, right?" Donald said. Raymond's cheeks would have reddened if they weren't already sun burnt.

"Well, excuse me for not being as patriotic as you. Next time I go to the store, I'll be sure to get a pair of boxers like yours. I'm sure that this nation would be proud for me to have the star spangle banner across my ass!" Red ranted before getting out of the car. Donald followed close behind.

"They were on sale!"

"Oh woopty fucking doo," Red muttered as they entered the lobby. "Sweet Jesus, it's cold in here!"

"How can I help y-," The receptionist started but stopped when she saw the two in front of her. Red shifted uncomfortably when he saw that her gaze was plastered where it didn't belong. He took off his hat and held it in front of his crotch. Red cleared his throat. Honestly, why couldn't she have stared at Donald instead? Oh right, the red, white, and blue on his boxers hadn't become see through from the water.

"We um... We lost our key." Donald stated and scratched the back of his neck. Why was he itchy all of a sudden?

"Oh... Uh, what was the number?" She asked and stood from her seat.

"Twenty four," Red replied. She took one last look at them before going to find the spare key. Donald and Red flinched when the front door opened. A woman of about thirty walked inside. She looked shocked at first but ultimately fell in behind the two men.

Red and Donald shivered in silence as the receptionist searched through a few drawers. Occasionally, the two would get a rather nasty itch on their necks or their backs. It was painful to scratch due to the sunburn, but they got through it.

At one point, Donald glanced back to see the woman leering at the two men. She caught his gaze after a moment and averted her eyes. Honestly, and women talked about men being perverts? The receptionist came back and handed over a key while the two men fought the urge to scratch their backs.

"Do you mind me asking what happened to you two?" She asked and tried to keep from looking them over. Come on, it wasn't like she always had barley clothed men walk in here. If it had been you, what would you have done?

"We went for a swim in the river and a dog ran off with our clothes." Donald answered.

"I wouldn't have done that if I were you." Chimed in the other woman. "There's snakes and poison ivy everywhere." She added and the two of them stopped in mid scratch. They both exchanges glances before looking at the woman with an expression of 'Now you tell me'.

author's note_

Just for the record, this has never happened to me, but if someone were to go swimming in any of the rivers around here, I could see this happening very easily. So, if you ever decide to go for a swim in a river, a lake, or even a pond, you have been warned. :)

Also, I have one thing that I'd like to mention. I was going to on another chapter but forgot about it. This is something I see being misused a LOT more than it should. The term 'y'all' is a contraction of 'you' and 'all'. It is not used as a replacement for 'you' or any other word.

I'm sorry, it just bugs me when I see this mistake. I have seen this in published books, and it irks me. Just as an extra tidbit, if there are only two people, it's common to just say 'you two'. 'Y'all' is used more when you get to groups of three or more. And there's my rant for the day. :) Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.


	19. Annoyed

Red went and had his meeting with Joseph Parkinson which had been boring beyond belief. Donald had waited outside in the car while the older man talked business. When he had come back outside and gotten in, Donald had asked if he should go and make the arrest. Red had virtually scolded him. Apparently, he was stupid if he thought that it was a good idea to go after him this soon after their meeting. Now, Donald was driving around feeling agitated while Red was looking out the window in hopes of finding something to do.

"Why don't we go get something to eat?" Red suggested and Donald refrained from making one of his usual fat jokes. He was still to annoyed for that. "We'd get to see the kind of people who live here and see what kind of food they like."

"I don't really care."

"What's it like?" Red asked causing Donald to glance at him.

"What is what like?"

"Living with a stick up your ass,"

"So, that's how you try to get what you want?" Donald asked and looked over at him. Red shrugged and looked out at the road in front of them.

"There's a place up there we could stop." Red stated and Donald just sighed because he wasn't up for an argument, at least not right now. "Giving in, are we?" Red asked with a smug grin, but Donald chose to ignore him and get out. The little restaurant seemed homey and welcoming which made It truly seem southern to him. "Well, don't just stand there. Let's go inside."

The older man walked past him and clapped him on the back. Donald shot him a quick glare which only made the criminal give a short laugh. Ressler silently vowed to never go on another trip with Reddington again. If the night continued like this, he might just kill the man. He could probably pull off some story that he had been kidnapped and used to get at the FBI. Reporters would love that story.

The inside of the restaurant seemed just as cozy as the outside. There were tables scattered around the room in no real pattern. People were chatting between tables as if they had known each other their entire lives. Given where they were, they probably had.

Red and Donald sat at a table in the corner where they could get full view of everything. They continued to look at the decorations around the room. There were painting hanging up everywhere of ducks and bird dogs and there were even two deer head mounted on the wall. Ressler glanced over to the side and saw another stuffed animal. What was that? Was that a bob cat? What ever it was, it was sitting on top of the drink machine, and Ressler was sure that was sanitary.

"How're you boys doin tonight?" Asked the waitress with a much thicker accent than what they had been hearing from other people in the area. She sat down a basket of hush puppies as she gave them a broad grin. Her white teeth nearly glowed compared to ruby red lipstick.

"We're good, thank you, and how are you, madam?" Red replied in a cheerful tone that nearly made Ressler sick.

"Oh, I'm just peachy keen." She replied and Red beamed at her. Donald had to keep from gagging. Who the fuck says 'peachy keen' anyway. Besides, it was obvious that Red was attracted to the woman. Somehow, that irked Donald even more. "What would you boys like to drink?"

"Coke," Donald replied in what was almost a growl.

"What would you recommend?" Reddington asked. Ressler rolled his eyes as the waitress gave him another big smile.

"The sweet tea is pretty good here." She answered.

"I'll have that." Red stated.

"I'll go get your drinks. You two be looking over your menus." She said before walking away. Ressler glared at Red as he watched the woman walking away. Reddington glanced over at him and saw the cold look he was getting.

"What?"

"What would you recommend? It's a fucking drink! Even little kids don't have to ask what's good." Ressler said before he started looking over the menu. "For the love of God, tell me that doesn't say frog legs."

"Sorry, Donny, but it does." Red replied and Ressler glare shot back to him with a new intensity.

"Don't you dare fucking call me that!" Ressler growled to where Red was the only one who could hear him. "To you, I'm Donald or Agent Ressler. You got that?"

"My my. Someone's snippy tonight." Red stated and Ressler stood up quickly nearly knocking over his chair. For a moment, Reddington thought he was going to try and start a fight.

"I'm going to the bathroom." Ressler stated.

"What? Are you going to try and get that stick out of your ass?" Red asked causing Ressler to grit his teeth. His fists clenched in anger, and he fought the urge to hit Red across the face. He was sure that with the sunburn, the hit would hurt even more. He decided it would be better to just leave.

He walked quickly to the two bathrooms on the other side of the building. He glanced at the signs hanging on the doors and scoffed. 'Sitters' and 'Pointers'. How lovely.

Ressler went inside and stood in front of the mirror. His face was red which was partly because of his burn and partly because of his anger. He didn't know why his anger had grown as big as it had but knew where it had started. He didn't like being treated like a child, and that was exactly what Reddington had done earlier that day.

He turned on the water and cupped his hands. He caught some of the cool water and splashed it on his face. Damn, he had needed that. The water felt so good against the sunburn and the pure heat of the south. Honestly, why was it so fucking hot?

Ressler walked back out without even wiping his face. He went back and sat down. He could feel Reddington's gaze on him but refused to look up from the menu. He needed a break from their constant arguing and bickering. It was too damn stressful. He tensed when he heard Red's fingers tapping on the table top. Then, he heard the basket of hush puppies sliding across the table.

"Try one." Red stated. Ressler wasn't sure if that was a way for Red to control him or if it was a peace offering. Regardless, he took one and bit into it. It was virtually a fried ball of dough with onion and spices in it. It was good but seemed unusually simple. "Are you alright, Donald?"

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure, because you seem like you're, as Scarlet would say, on your man period." Red stated. Donald glared up at him with a sneer. Some of his anger subsided when he saw the look in Red's eyes. Was that concern?

"I'm just tired." He replied as most of his anger faded.

"Why didn't you just say so before we came in here? This could have waited, and we could have just gone back to the motel and ordered something to eat if we wanted anything." Red stated. Ressler rage was completely gone. He leaned back in his chair and took a deep breath.

How was that possible? Why was it possible? With just a couple sentences, Reddington had changed complete rage into something else. It wasn't happiness. It was more like something else. It was comfort and content with being where he was. That was something he hadn't been able to achieve all week. Now, he was grateful to have it.

Author's note_

Something to go on the sweeter side. More humor will come. Just give it time. Sorry that I haven't uploaded in a few days. I had to do a report for English.

Quick tip for anyone. If you can do a report on anything you want and get the notion to do it on Steampunk, don't fucking do it! At least not if you don't know where to go for the right sources. I like the fashion and wanted to to my report on that but found out that there isn't really that much information that I could find easily. So, there's my reason for taking so long. Hope this was worth the wait for somebody.


	20. Wait What?

Red was starting to hate the south more and more by the minute. The temperature had gone up to nearly a hundred degrees causing him to be reduced to wearing a t-shirt and a pair of shorts. That kind of clothing made him feel awkward and overexposed but the heat was just too much.

Another thing he hated was the bugs and spiders. The damned things were everywhere. He'd swatted at least ten bees this morning. Then, he'd searched for where they hated gotten in from and found no feasible point of entry. He had given up and had sprawled out on his back on the bed, but Donald, on the other hand, had went to take a shower to cool off.

At some point, Red had dozed off. He woke up when he heard the water shut off. He laid there until he heard buzzing around his head. He swatted at the bee, but it only moved away from him. He got up quickly and ignored the look Donald, who was standing there in nothing but a towel, was giving him. He grabbed a rolled up newspaper and raised it to swat at the insect.

"Red," Donald said and brushed back his hair that was dripping water onto the carpet. Red looked up at the younger man. He ignored that his gaze had lingered on Ressler's bare chest for a second.

"What?" He asked lowering his newspaper.

"Take off your shorts." Donald instructed causing Red's eyes to widen.

"...What?" Red questioned hoping he had misheard him.

"I said take off your shorts." Donald repeated. So, Red hadn't misheard him. His cheeks reddened slightly as he took in his situation. He was alone in a motel room with a man who was dripping wet with nothing but a flimsy towel on and was being told to take off his shorts.

"No!" He exclaimed and started to move away from Donald.

"Don't move!" Donald yelled and bolted forward. He grabbed onto the criminal's arm to make sure he didn't try to get away. "Now, take off your fucking shorts!"

"Don-,"

"Do it!"

"Fine!" Red yelled back giving up. He hadn't been told to take his underwear off. Maybe Ressler had some reason for this that he just hadn't told Red about. Red reached for the button of his shorts quickly and started to unbutton them.

"Slowly!" Donald instructed and Raymond's cheeks reddened again. What was this, a fucking strip tease? Regardless of his discomfort with the situation, Reddington did as he was told and slowly lowered his shorts. He tried to ignore the way Ressler was looking at his rear. He was staring with a look of intensity that made Red wonder if he contemplating if he should rape him or not.

"Well?"

"Take off your boxers." Donald stated causing Red to try and pull away. Donald held onto him tightly to where he couldn't move. "Just do it!"

"FUCK NO!" Red shouted and gave another pull.

"Then, hold still." Donald instructed. "But you better hope I don't miss."

"What the Fuck?"

Donald held on tightly to Red's arm to make sure that he didn't move. He pulled his hand back before slapping Reddington's rear. Red yelped and jumped forward. He held his hands protectively over his ass and glared at other man.

"Did it bite you?" Donald asked causing Red's look of anger to turn into one of confusion.

"Did what bite me?" He questioned and Ressler furrowed his brow.

"You didn't feel it?"

"For the love of God! Tell me what's going on!"

"A spider crawled up your shorts." Donald said and Red's eye twitched.

"So, instead of telling me that, you just make me think you're going to rape me, and then you spank me?" He asked and Donald shrugged.

"I thought you knew."

Author's note_

I had to do this :). I wouldn't have thought of it if it weren't for spiders being EVERYWHERE this year. It really sucks when you're arachnophobia, which I am in a very extreme way.


	21. gas station

Finally, they could go home. There was no more need to have to sleep in the same bed or have anymore awkward run ins with a spider. Red's ass still stung from that. Of course, he wouldn't mention it in fear that Donald would make some joke about it.

Donald hadn't had to do much. He had just had to go to the house and knock on the door. Joseph had just come to the door thinking that it was another person he was meeting with. Donald had made the arrest and dropped him off at a local police department. Then, he had went by the motel and had gotten Raymond. Now, the two were halfway back to the post office.

"I think I can feel the temperature dropping." Red half joked. It was a good bit cooler than it had been.

"Good, I'm tired of getting roasted." Donald replied. Somehow the trip back was a lot easier than the trip there. He blamed it on the fact that he was going home. He fought back the nagging thought that it was because he'd gotten used to Reddington's presence. He glanced down at the fuel gauge and grimaced. "We need to get gas."

"I think there's a gas station a few miles from here." Reddington said. Sure enough, there was a gas station. Red gave a laugh causing Donald to look over at him. "It's named the 'Kum and Go'." He explained but Donald just looked confused. "It's funny because... Eh... never mind. You'll figure it out later."

Donald shrugged and parked. They both got out and went inside. Donald paid for the gas while Red went to the bathroom. Donald went back outside and started pumping fuel into the car. He leaned back against the car before laughing and shaking his head. "Kum and go," he snickered.

Red walked out of the bathroom and was about to head out when he heard something. It sounded like crying. He turned and saw a small girl sitting in the corner. She couldn't have been more than five. Red walked over to her and looked at her in confusion.

"Are you ok?" He asked causing the black haired girl to look at him.

"Mommy left me here." She answered. Red crouched down next to her. "She says that she's coming back, but I'm scared that she won't." She added and Red chewed on the inside of his jaw.

"Why did she leave you here?" He asked and she shrugged. "Do you want someone to wait with you?" He questioned and she nodded. "I'm going to go tell my friend what's going on. You wait here."

Reddington stood and walked outside. Halfway there, it occurred to him that he had called Donald his friend. The thought made him sneer and left a bad taste in his mouth. There were very few people he referred to in that way and he wasn't ready to put Donald in that category. He got to the car and explained what had happened.

It wasn't long before the two were sitting outside on a bench. Each were on one side of the little girl who was swinging her feet back and forth. She seemed much more at ease with the two of them there. She glanced back and forth between them taking in their appearances. Then, her gaze lingered on Red's stomach causing her to furrow her brow.

"Are you gonna have a baby?" She asked and looked up to see his shocked expression. Had she just asked if he was pregnant? Wait, his stomach didn't stick out that much, did it? Donald laughed causing Red to glare at him.

"No, I'm not going to have a baby." Red answered still glaring at Donald.

"No, he's just chubby." Donald laughed and Red contemplated if he should hit him or not. "It doesn't help that over the past week, I don't think he's eaten anything that wasn't fried."

"We get the point, Donald." Red stated angrily. Donald ignored the glare he was getting but knew that he was really pissing him off.

"I'm just joking." Donald replied. Red just crossed his arms and looked away from him. Donald rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Are you two married?" Asked the little girl.

"What?"

"Are you a couple?"

"No!"

"You should be." She stated causing both men to give her a strange look. "Well, you should." She said as if this should have been obvious to the both of them. Then, she looked a little confused. "Which one of you would be the woman?"

"He would," they both said in unison. They glared at each other before saying, "No, you would,". The girl watched as the men continued bickering like children until she saw her mother pull into the parking lot. She jumped down and ran to the car.

"You would be and you know it!... Where'd the kid go?" Donald asked before they saw her waving from the car. "Oh, I guess that we can leave now." He said. They got back into the car. "You'd be on bottom."

"Like hell I would. You know it's usually the younger on the bottom."

"Actually, I think it's usually the bigger of the two, and a kid just thought you were pregnant."

"Shut the hell up!" He said. He crossed his arms and looked out the window. He chewed on his lower lip before turning back to Donald. "Am I really that big?" He asked and Donald chuckled.

"Is someone self conscious?" He asked and poked Red in the side of the belly causing him to flinch. Red glared at him and slapped his hand away.

"I'm serious." He said and Donald was silent for a minute before looking over at him.

"No, you're not actually that big." Donald answered. It was fun to make jokes and poke at him, but he wasn't going to lie to him about it.

"Are you just saying that so I'll be quiet?" Red asked giving one of his usual glares. Donald raised an eyebrow. Sometimes, Red could easily make him think of a woman. And right now, he was making Donald think of a woman asking, 'Honey, does this dress make me look fat?'.

"No, Red, you look fine... Crap, we are starting to sound like a couple."

Author's note_

I had no idea for when Joseph was getting arrested, but I couldn't send them home without something else happening. Kids can be really blunt sometimes. I can vaguely remember something like this happening to me when I was younger, but I have no idea why anyone thought it was a good idea or what reason there was. Luckily, I was only there for about five minutes and the majority of that was spent locked up in a bathroom stall.

Also the Kum and Go is a real chain of gas stations. Sadly, I've only seen about three of them. Either way, they crack me up anytime I see one.


	22. What did you do?

It had been a long ride back, but the two made it to the post office before it was time to go home. Scarlet had been happy to see both of them. It had caught Donald off guard when she came up and hugged him. He'd looked at Red but had only gotten a shrug in response. Donald guessed that Red didn't see him as a threat to the woman. Honestly, he didn't even think that Red saw him as a threat to him anymore.

"So, what have you got?" Red asked Scarlet when she was finally done with her hugging. Well, done with it for the moment. He expected another wave of affection to come from her before the hour was up.

"Things were pretty quiet while you were gone. I didn't have to write down any names." She explained while she beamed at him. He squinted at her causing her smile to falter. "What?"

"What did you do?" He asked and she shook her head.

"I didn't do anything." She replied and crossed her arms over her chest. "Why do you always think I did something?"

"Because you always do something," he replied causing the blonde to roll her eyes. "You might as well tell what it is now."

"Hmmm... I don't think so."

"Dembe?" Red asked his bodyguard/best friend.

"Tattoo," he answered and Scarlet's jaw dropped. She pointed to him.

"You're a traitor." She stated which only caused him to smile. She pointed to Red and jabbed him gently in the chest. "And you're a cheater." She added causing Red to chuckle.

"So, what is it?... More importantly, where is it?" He asked as he leaned back against a table.

"I'm not answering that."

"Dembe?"

"Don't you dare!"

"I know it's a butterfly, but I don't know where she got it." Dembe answered.

"It's on your ass, isn't it?" Red asked smirking at her.

"...Yes," she answered and looked away from him. He chuckled again before his smile fell and his eye twitched. A thought had crossed his mind and he was in no mood to share it. "What?"

"Nothing." He stated and glanced at his watch. "I really need to be going." He said and patted her on the cheek. He exited the room followed by Dembe and Donald. "What do you want, Donald?"

"What happened back there?" He asked getting a look from Red.

"It doesn't matter."

"You're worried about her, aren't you?" Donald asked causing Red and Dembe to stop. "You're worried that if she puts herself out there like that, she'll get hurt or raped." He added. "It's like what you said that you were afraid of about her singing at the bar."

"You told him what happened?" Dembe asked.

"No," Red answered quickly. "And don't tell him. If Scarlet wants him to know, she can tell him."

"Why are you so afraid for her? You know how tough she is." Donald said.

"Dembe, can you leave us alone for a moment?" Red asked and Dembe nodded before walking out of the room. Red clenched his jaw and moved uncomfortably close to the other man. Donald refused to be intimidated and stood his ground.

"I know more about her than you do." Red stated. Donald scoffed mentally and thought, 'That's why I know she's a stripper and you don't.'. "I realize that I may have opened up a little to you over the past couple of months, but I will not tolerate you acting like you know more about the people in my life than I do. Do you understand?" He asked in a tone that was almost a growl and Donald nodded.

Red gave him one last glare before turning and walking away. Donald watched him go. A part of him wanted to rub it in his face that Scarlet left herself exposed at least once a week. Another part of him that he refused to admit was there wanted to shield him from the truth.

author's note_

Sorry, I had to get a little serious there for a second. I can't see these two getting closer without trying to pull back. Red made the first note of that here. Unlike Donald, he's willing to admit that he let down his guard for a minute.

There will be more funny parts. Don't worry, I can't not write these two into more funny situations. :) I have a little timeline going on in my head, but if you guys think of a situation you want portrayed in the story, you can suggest it (I love suggestions! Sometimes they can make you think of the most hilarious stuff). Then, I'll try to work it in.


	23. Noodle Shop

Tension was high between Red and Donald. Scarlet had stuck around on her day off from work. She could feel it, and so could everyone else. She thought over her options which she discovered wasn't many. So, she settled on the best and least suspicious one, or at least the one that she thought was the least suspicious. Red could tell something was up the second she mentioned it.

Scarlet's plan was to ask everyone to go with her to her favorite restaurant. She knew that Donald was the only one who could make it and was willing to take advantage of that. Both Red and Donald would have declined if it weren't for the fact that neither of them would feel comfortable disappointing the woman.

That's why they were sitting across a table and glaring at each other. Dembe was seated next to Reddington but refused to get involved in their conflicts. Instead he just glanced around the room in case something was out of the ordinary. The only thing that was missing was, of course, Scarlet.

Donald was getting irritated of just sitting there. So, he decided to take in his surroundings. He and the other two were sitting on large cushions around a round table that was barley six inches off the ground. The decor was mostly red and gold. There were paper lanterns and painting everywhere that just screamed Asian. With all the detail that went into the place, Donald would have thought that it would have had a better name than, 'Noodle Palace'.

"Dembe, do you have any idea what's keeping Scarlet?" Red asked and the large man just shrugged. Red huffed in irritation and looked down at his cup of tea. He swirled the liquid before taking a sip.

"I'm sorry I'm late." Scarlet called as she walked in.

"It's about damn ti-," Red stated but stopped. Donald looked up to see a look of horror on Red's face. He'd never seen Red show that much emotion. He looked at Scarlet and saw why. "Wh- What the hell happened to you?" He asked as he stared at the blood that was caked onto her shirt.

"Huh?" Scarlet looked down but couldn't see due to her breasts blocking her view. She pulled on the shirt to where she could see it. Instead of screaming or at least looking frightened, she looked disappointed. "This was my favorite shirt! Why'd he have to bleed all over it?"

"Who?" Red asked and Scarlet shrugged.

"He's a friend of mine from the bar. He showed up bleeding, and I had to help him." She answered before flagging down a waitress. "Do you have something I can change into to?"

"When are you going to show up without blood on you? One day, you're going to scare away customers!" The woman replied but Scarlet knew that she was just picking at her. She grabbed Scarlet's hand and dragged her to the back.

"I'm still confused." Donald stated.

"You should be used to that by now, Donald." Red said and the two shot each other a quick glare. Scarlet came back moments later wearing a red and gold robe.

"Next time, change clothes before you show up." The waitress scolded.

"I didn't have any clean clothes." Scarlet replied with a sheepish grin. The waitress rolled her eyes, and Scarlet sat down next to Donald. She got their orders. For Donald this was just a point and choose because he had no idea what any of these items were. Scarlet looked between Red and Donald and chewed on her lower lip. "So, what's going on between you two?"

"Nothing, we just naturally don't like each other." Red answered and took a sip of his tea.

"I don't believe that." She answered and he rolled his eyes. She looked to Donald. "Care to explain?" She asked and he shook his head. She glanced at Dembe and raised an eyebrow. He gave his head a small shake to answer her silent question.

She sighed and slouched a little before saying, "Fine". She was silent for a moment before the sides of her lips tugged upward. "You know, if you don't tell me, I'm just going to have to assume that you two are have a lover's spat." She said causing Red to choke on his tea.

"What the hell?" Donald asked staring at her with wide eyes. "We aren't... I mean we haven't-,"

"You might not be lovers, but I know that when you were in Mississippi, you two shared a bed." She said causing both men to look at each other.

"You told her?!" They yelled at each other in unison. "Me? You did!"

"Technically, you both did." She said smugly. "Just now,"

"You mean that you didn't know?" Donald asked.

"How would I have known that?" She asked. "And when are you two going to figure out that you make the freakin cutest couple ever?" She added causing both men to blush. Dembe bit the inside of his jaw to keep from laughing. Sometimes, Scarlet's behavior cracked him up.

"We aren't a couple." Donald said.

"Exactly!" Red said. "And you should know better than to think that I'd be with a complete dumb ass." He added and Donald glared at him.

"Fat ass,"

"At least I have a higher I.Q. than a rock!"

"At least little kids don't think I'm pregnant." Donald retorted and Red clenched his jaw. Scarlet took a sip of her tea and rolled her eyes.

"Will you two just make out and get it over with? After all, you already bicker like an old married couple."

author's note_

Just to go ahead and tell you, Scarlet coming in covered in blood will come into play more later on. Hope you guys thought this was at least kind of funny. I just had to put in something that shows that Scarlet has her own ways of getting answers.

Also a little info on the Noodle Palace. I have no idea if a place like this actually exists in the U.S. I'm just picturing a place that I would love to go to. Also, I called it the Noodle Palace because of something I would so when I was younger. There was a Chinese place that me and my family would go to when I was like seven and eight. I would never call it by it's actual name. I'd always call it The Noodle Place... I was a bit of an odd child... Ok, I'm still odd... Don't judge me!

:D Hope you guys liked this.


	24. found out

It was Friday and Red wanted to go out and do something. He didn't want to bring anyone along with him either. Not Dembe and not Donald. He hated the fact that Donald had been added to that list but still acknowledged it. If you never take note of your problems, you could never get rid of them, and this was certainly one he wanted to get rid of.

He chewed on the inside of his jaw and leaned back in his chair as he thought about his options. He could always go to one of the various restaurants around town. His stomach clenched at the memory of the gas station. Ok, maybe food wasn't the best idea at the moment.

Scarlet! He could finally go see her show. He'd avoid the drinks for obvious reason, but he'd get to hear her sing. That's what he was going to do. He told Dembe to take the night off before leaving the safe house. He got in the black car before driving off.

It didn't take him long to get there. The show hadn't started yet but the only available seats were in the very back. They were remarkably comfortable though. He leaned back and gave a sigh. The lights were dim causing him to feel as though he could fall asleep at any moment. He might would have if it were for the fact the show was just about to start.

"I hope you boys are ready." Scarlet said into the microphone. Red smiled at her but knew that she couldn't see him through the crowd. She looked beautiful in that red dress. It wasn't cut as low as the one he usual saw her in but was still revealing enough that it could capture a man's attention.

"Take it off!" Yelled one man in the crowd. Red glared in his direction. He'd have to find out who that was and kill him later. Scarlet was important to him and wouldn't let a man talk to her like that. His gaze snapped back to the stage when he heard her laugh.

"You know it's not time for that yet." She said and Red raised an eyebrow. What did she mean by 'yet'? He watched as she picked up a violin and start playing. It sounded amazing which stunned Red because he never knew that she could play this well. She turned the bow in such a way that it snagged on a piece of her dress. Somehow, the small tug pulled off a strip of fabric exposing more cleavage.

"Whoops!" She said but didn't look shocked at all. "I think I missed a note." She added causing a chuckle to come from the crowd. She started playing again. The bow hooked another section of her dress and ripped it off. Red felt a mixture of rage, fear, and disappointment.

He had to get out of here. It felt like the room was burning him. He got to his feet and out the door before she could see him. He got back in the car and took a deep breath. He clenched his fists before punching the steering wheel causing the horn to give a brief honk.

"What the hell does she think she's doing?" He asked him before cranking the car. He ran a hand over his head to calm himself before driving off. This couldn't be happening. She should have known better than to put herself out there like that! The room was filled with criminals for Pete's sake!

He had to get back to the safe house and tell Dembe... Did Dembe know about this? He'd been to the show. He had been hesitant on the phone when he told Reddington that the only thing he hadn't expected was the music. He'd been trying to protect her from Red.

Where was he supposed to go? Who was he supposed to trust? He had relied on both of them, and now, it was evident that he couldn't trust either of them. His mind wandered as he drove aimlessly through the city. Images of Scarlet at her lowest flashed through his mind.

The car came to a halt in front of a building and Red got out. He didn't know where he was going. His mind was still replaying over the memory of finding a teenage blonde girl laying broken and naked on the side of the streets. He had picked her up, clothed her, and tried his damnedest to fix her. Now, she was striping for the same kind of men who had left her on the side of the street.

Red looked up and realized where he was. The number on the door seemed to stare at him. It was Donald's apartment. Why had he come here? What was he supposed to do? Was he supposed to tell him about what he found out about Scarlet?

He raised his hand to knock but stopped. He hated that his fist trembled as it hovered in front of the door. It would be so easy to knock and to break down in front of the man inside. Maybe, Ressler would pity him and invite him inside. Maybe, let him stay for the night.

Red lowered his hand without knocking. If he couldn't trust Scarlet or Dembe, he certainly couldn't trust Donald. He turned and started back for the elevator. He clicked the down button. Before the door opened, Red looked back at Donald's apartment. Of all the places in the city, why had he wandered here?

author's note_

Well this was kind of depressing. I feel like Red seems a little extra out of character here. On the show, you always see him in control of himself. I wanted to focus a little more on what he felt instead of how he acted.

Sorry, it took me so long to upload another chapter. It's the end of the school year, and I have to work through some things. I don't have much longer before I'm out. So, I can probably focus a little more on writing soon. :D

I'm curious though. What do you guys think would have happened if Red had knocked?


	25. pushing her away

Red entered the post office followed by Dembe. Red would glance back at the other man and wonder what all he was hiding from him. He knew that hiding Scarlet's little secret was understandable but still felt doubt. He walked into the main room and froze. Scarlet was chatting with Donald. How dare she act so casual after what she had done?

He felt a rage come over him as he marched over to her. He clenched his jaw as she greeted him cheerily. Her smile fell at the look in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"I want you out." He stated and she raised an eyebrow. She tried to look to Dembe for answers but saw that he was staring at Red in confusion.

"So, I'm not welcomed in the post office?" She asked and he clenched a fist.

"I meant out of my life." He growled causing her eyes to widen.

"What did she do?" Dembe asked looking dumbstruck.

"You know perfectly well what she's done and what she's still doing." Red replied with a glare. Dembe gave a quick glance at Scarlet before it sank in.

"So, that's where you went."

"I'm still confused." Scarlet said looking to Donald who just shrugged. He didn't have any idea as to what was going on.

"He saw your show."

"Oh, I saw plenty. So much that I never want to see you again." Red stated before walking off. The three watched him leave in shock.

"That... That actual went better than I thought it would." Scarlet said rubbing the back of her neck. "Do you think he realizes that I'm not actually going to leave him alone?"

"I would suggest laying low for a while." Dembe offered and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I don't get what the big deal is." Donald chimed in. He crossed his arms and leaned back against the table behind him. "Why's he so mad?"

"He wants me gone right now. I don't have time to explain everything. Maybe, he'll tell you. After all, he's kind of warmed up to you." She said and Donald chuckled.

"Yeah, about as warm as ice."

"Hey, that's pretty damn good when you two started out at zero degrees kelvin." She stated and he raised an eyebrow. "Science joke, nevermind. I gotta go. You two keep an eye on him." She added before hugging both of them. She turned and left the two standing there.

"Do you know what's going on?" Donald asked Dembe.

"Partially," he stated. "I do know that Raymond feels betrayed right now."

"Shouldn't someone go talk to him?"

"He's mad at me. That only leaves you."

"Heh, I don't think so." Donald said standing up straight again. Dembe just watched him. "I'm not doing it!" He stated but Dembe's gaze lingered on him. "...F-Fine, I'll go talk to him." He said before turning. He ignored the sound of Dembe chuckling.

Donald found Red sitting in his office. Why had he come to this room? He guessed it was because it was the only one that was empty at the moment. He walked in and closed the door behind him. Red glanced up at him before returning his glare to the floor.

"Why are you mad?" Donald asked bluntly. Red glared up at him.

"Donald, we both know that you don't want to be here. So, just go back out there and chat with someone else." Red replied causing Donald to roll his eyes.

"Just spill it. Otherwise, you'll be bitching at the rest of us all day just because you're upset with Scarlet." Red's glare intensified.

"I'm not telling you anything, so get lost."

"This is my office!" Donald exclaimed in annoyance. Reddington huffed and stood. He walked to the door and opened it. Before he could leave, Donald had reached over and pushed the door shut. Red glared at the younger man who was leaning against the door.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm tired of everyone ignoring me when I ask something. You can leave when you answer my question."

"What question?"

"What the hell is wrong? You seem perfectly fine with Scarlet one day and the next, you're telling her to get lost!"

"I won't te-,"

"Damn it, Reddington!" Donald yelled and grabbed onto the criminal's shirt before yanking him forward. "Tell me what's going on!"

"She's a stripper!" Red yelled back and Donald released him. Raymond straightened out his shirt and avoided eye contact.

"You're afraid for her." Donald stated. "Why are you always so afraid for her?"

"I told you what you wanted. Now, let me out." Red growled making himself look Ressler in the eye. "It was none of your business anyway."

Donald thought about pushing it more but decided against it. He opened the door, and Red exited the room. Ressler waited a moment before leaving as well. He was slightly shocked that he'd gotten anything out of Red. He'd been more shocked that he hadn't denied that he was afraid for Scarlet.

author's note_

This chapter didn't really interest me that much, but I felt it was needed.


	26. opinion

Red was unusually quiet for the next few days. He only spoke to Liz when it seemed that he had no other choice. Not a word was uttered to Ressler, not even one of his usual insults. Donald made sure to keep an eye on him. He wouldn't admit it, not even to himself, but he was concerned about the criminal. Any time that he would look over, Red would be chewing on the inside of his cheek with a distant look in his eyes.

It wasn't until later that he knew the full extent of how the situation was affecting Red. He had been in his apartment when he heard a knock on his door. Hearing the thunder and rain outside, he walked to the door and opened it. He raised an eyebrow when he saw Red soaked to the bone with water dripping down his face and off of his fedora.

"This seems familiar." Donald stated remembering when he had showed up at Red's safe house freezing and wet. "What do you need?"

"Your opinion," Red muttered with a look of hopelessness in his eyes that Ressler wasn't used to. "I need to know if I'm making a mistake with Scarlet."

"So, why are you asking me? Why not Dembe?"

"Because we aren't friends. You aren't going to lie or sugar coat it to make me feel like everything I do seems to be the right thing." Red answered. Donald tried not to be shocked about, 'we aren't friends', but he was shocked. He guessed it was because of how often he ended up stuck doing things with Reddington.

"You know, you're going to have to explain some things right?" Donald asked and Red nodded slightly dripping more water off of his hat. Donald stepped back and motioned for him to come inside. He walked into the bathroom and grabbed a towel. He tossed it to Red who was chewing on the inside of his cheek again.

Donald made a gesture for them to move into the kitchen, and Red followed him. Ressler poured them both a cup of coffee and sat down. Reddington stared down at the liquid while he held the warm cup in his chilled hands. Ressler watched in silence and waited for the man to speak.

"Any time you're ready," Donald said causing Red to look up at him like he had forgotten he was supposed to talk.

"I... I don't know where to start." Red admitted sheepishly. Donald raised and eyebrow. He'd never seen him act like this. He'd only seen him when he knew exactly what to do and where to go.

"Just tell me why you're trying to push her away." Donald stated and Red nodded. He seemed to contemplate his words before he finally spoke.

"I can't watch her die." Red replied his voice deep like he had to force the words out.

"She's not dying."

"If one of those men get to her, she will. She'd been raped before I met her, and when I found her, she was broken." Red explained and Donald stared at him for a moment. He hadn't known that about Scarlet. She always seemed so at ease with men.

"So, you want to get rid of her so you won't lose her?" Donald asked and Red took a long sip of his coffee.

"I suppose that's one way to look at it."

"That's fucked up logic." Donald stated. Red pursed his lips giving him a bit of an irritated look. "Hey, you asked my opinion."

"I know." Red sighed and pushed his coffee cup away. "Now that I have my answer, I should do something about it." He said and moved to stand up but Donald held up a hand to stop him.

"You can stay here until the rain clears up, if you want." Donald offered and saw a flicker of a smile that Reddington obviously hadn't wanted him to see. Red lowered himself back down into the seat and picked the coffee cup back up.

"I don't guess that it would hurt anything to stay a little longer." Red stated hiding a small smile behind his cup. Raymond felt like the simple offer shouldn't have cheered him up like it had but didn't see a point in turning it down. He tried to focus on that thought and not the thought that if they continued like this, he'd have to admit that he and Donald had become what most would call friends.

author's note_

When I got to the end of this, my first thought was, "Resslington level up!" :D I'm such a nerd sometimes. Anyway, the next chapter will be better. I still like this one though. I like the thought of Red turning to Donald for help.


	27. The Call

Red put his hat back on his head. He'd been in Donald's apartment long enough for the rain to stop and his clothes to dry. He was about to reach for the door handle when his phone rang. He pulled it out and answered it as Donald entered the room.

"Scarlet?" Red asked before a look of confusion overtook him. "You did what? You're where?" He said and Donald furrowed his brow. "What? No, I'm not coming to get you!"

"Really?" Donald said before snatching the phone away. "Scarlet, where are you?" Red tried to get his phone back, but Donald held him back until he knew what he needed to know. "Ok, we'll be there as soon as we can."

"What the hell do you mean 'we'?" Red nearly shouted. Donald hung up and handed the phone back to Red who was glaring at him intensely. "I'm not going."

"What happened to making up with her?"

"That was before she assumed that I would do her a favor." Red stated and Donald rolled his eyes. "I'm not going."

"I'll make you go. Either you can walk by yourself or I can carry you to the car." Donald said and Red rolled his eyes. "Don't believe me?"

"No, I can't say that I do." Red replied and Donald turned away. Feeling like he'd won, Red turned towards the door. When he placed one hand on the knob, a handcuff was clamped down around his wrist. Donald latched onto his other hand before pulling them both behind his back and hooking them together. "Donald!" He shouted as he was spun around.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Donald stated. He leaned forward and wound his arms around the other man's legs. Red gasped when he felt Donald's arms hook under his rear. With one quick pull, Red was on Donald's shoulder. For a second, he thought he was about to fall face first onto the floor.

"Put me down!"

"No," Donald stated before reaching for the door knob with his free hand. The other was dug into the back of Red's vest to make sure he didn't fall. Donald carried Red out into the hallway and closed the door behind him. He walked to the elevator and clicked the down button.

"Donald, put me down this instant!" Red ordered squirming slightly. The elevator door opened to show an old woman. She gave the pair an odd look before walking past them. "This is embarrassing." He muttered when the old woman was gone.

"You should have thought of that sooner." Donald stated before stepping into the elevator and pressing the button to go to the first floor. "Stop squirming. You're gonna make me drop you."

"And what are you gonna do, Donald?" Red growled as he tried to squirm out of Donald's grasp. He didn't care if he fell. He just wanted down. Donald swore when he nearly lost his grip on the older man.

"I said stop!" Donald yelled before doing the only thing he could think of. He pulled his hand back before slapping Red's rear as hard as he could. Red yelped at the sudden contact.

"D-Did you just spank me?"

"Do I need to do it again?" Donald huffed. He was tired of dealing with Reddington. Hopefully, this would shut him up. The elevator opened and Donald walked out carrying a stunned Raymond.

Donald ignored the looks he got from the few people he passed on his way to the parking lot. Ressler carefully put Reddington into the front passenger seat. Red blushed and let out a small whimper when Donald stumbled and caught himself by putting a hand on the inside of his upper thigh.

This was getting to be nerve wracking. He'd been handcuffed by a man who was unintentionally violating him. Well, mostly unintentional. That slap to the ass in the elevator had been completely on purpose.

"This would have been easier if you had just walked." Donald commented as he sat down in the driver's seat. "I almost forgot." He said. Donald leaned flat against Red to grab the seat belt, and Red felt his cheeks grow hot. He cursed himself mentally for letting the contact get to him.

"Will you hurry up?" Red asked just before Donald grabbed the seat belt and pulled it across him. He hooked it before buckling his own.

After a few minutes, Donald had let Red out of the handcuffs, but afterwards they rode in silence. Donald was focusing on where he was going while Red was trying to shake the thought of what had happened out of his head. What was going on? He had never gotten flustered so much just from Donald touching him. If he had, they both would have been in trouble at McCarthy's or in Mississippi.

"How much longer is it until we get there?" Red asked and Donald took a quick glance at him.

"We're nearly there, shouldn't be more than ten minutes." He replied and Red huffed before slumping back in his seat. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at the buildings that were on either side of the street.

"Why did you drag me along?" Red asked after a few minutes of silence.

"I'm not letting you go back on your word. You told me that you were going to apologize to Scarlet and make up with her."

"You're a bastard." Red stated looking away from the younger man. He yelped when he felt Ressler's fingers jab into his ribs. He glared at Ressler and clenched his jaw to keep himself from yelling at the chuckling man.

"That's always gonna be funny." Ressler said. Red pulled back a fist and punched Donald in the arm. "Ouch! Dumb ass! I'm driving!" He complained and Red smirked.

They pulled into a parking lot to an old building that hadn't been used in years. They both looked around for Scarlet but didn't see her anywhere. They both jumped when one of the back doors opened.

"Thank you," Scarlet called as she got in. Ressler looked over at Reddington who refused to look back at either of them.

"Well?" Donald said.

"Well what?" Red asked still not looking at him.

"Don't you have something to say to her?"

"No, I do not." Red stated and pursed his lips.

"Red, tell her or else I'll make you." Donald said getting a glare from the man. "Three... Two...One. Alright, you asked for it." Donald added. Red nearly screamed when Donald started jabbing him in the stomach. He swatted at his hand but couldn't get him to stop.

"Guys, can we go?!" Scarlet interrupted causing Donald to pull away from Red. Raymond was wide eyed and red faced as he stared at Donald. "You two can continue your weird little mating ritual later."

"Hey!" Both yelled at the same time before glaring back at the woman. Both stared in shock when they saw her.

"Where the hell is your shirt?" Red asked and Scarlet shrugged.

"It's a long story."


	28. A Thrilling Discussion

Red and Donald were quiet as Scarlet explained how she got into the position she was in. Apparently, someone had mistaken her for another girl from the bar. They had followed her home and had kidnapped her. After several hours of questioning, they had dumped her, shirtless, on the side of the road.

Donald believed her in a second while Red wasn't convinced she was telling them everything. He couldn't picture a man just taking her shirt and being done with her. They hadn't even taken her bra, just her shirt.

"Where do I need to take you?" Donald asked.

"Just drop her off with me." Red muttered causing Donald to give him a half smile. Red rolled his eyes. This didn't mean that he forgave her. It just meant that he wanted answers out of her.

"Thank you," Scarlet said as she leaned forward to hug Red.

"Don't hug me when your breasts are hanging out!" He yelled causing her to go fall back in her seat.

"Ok, ok. Yikes. I bet you wouldn't say that to Donald." She stated shocking both men. Donald glanced at her in the rearview mirror while Red turned in his seat.

"First, I wouldn't want Donald to hug me. Second, I don't think he has breasts."

"Are you kidding me? He has man boobs of steel." She said gesturing to Donald. "I don't know how he doesn't have women hanging all over him." She added and Red stared at her.

"Scarlet, when was the last time you had an alcoholic beverage or some sort of drug?"

"Never,"

"Are you sure?"

"Red, I'm serious. Donald has nice man tits. I'm pretty damn sure that you've noticed them." Scarlet stated getting a small blush from Red.

"Can we please stop discussing my chest." Donald interrupted. Red glanced over and saw that he was blushing like mad.

"Fine, we can discuss your ass instead."

"Here's an idea. Why don't you talk about Red's ass instead?" Donald asked getting a glare and a blush from Red.

"No, we are NOT going to talk about my ass." Red stated noting that his rear still hurt from being slapped earlier.

"Heh, you're right. It's too broad of a topic."

"Excuse me?!"

"Sorry, but you have a really big butt for a guy."

"I do not!" Red argued while Scarlet sat back and watched the show. She hadn't planned this but was amused by it anyway. "You're just saying that because you don't have an ass." He added before getting jabbed in the stomach. He swatted Donald's hand away. "Don't touch me!"

"That's what she said." Scarlet chimed in from the back.

"Scarlet, shut up!" Red shouted getting riled up. "For me having such a big ass, you have no trouble hitting it." He said looking back to Donald.

"What?"

"I slapped it! I didn't hit it! I slapped it!" Donald shouted back, his blush spreading farther across his face.

"What the hell is the difference?"

"'Hitting' means sex. I can assure you that I did NOT hit that." Donald explained causing Red to blush even more. "Wait, did you just admit that you'd be on the bottom?"

"You two have had the whole who would be on bottom discussion a lot, haven't you?" Scarlet asked.

author's note_

I have no self control. I started out going to explain what happened to Scarlet and then got distracted by man tits(the muscle kind) and butts. This just proves more to me that girls(well, me at least) are just as pervy as guys. We just don't get caught staring... most of the time. :D


	29. Tied Up

Scarlet whistled as she walked into the post office. She paused when she heard yelling coming from inside. With a bit of hesitation, she walked farther inside. Stepping into the main room, she saw that the only people present were Red, Donald, Liz, and Dembe. The two screaming at each other were Red and Donald, as if that hadn't been obvious before she had gotten there.

"What are they arguing about now?" Scarlet asked and Liz shrugged.

"I don't know. I heard something about too broad of a topic, and then, they started yelling at each other." She explained and Scarlet chewed on the inside of her jaw. She knew that this could have been her fault but didn't especially care. Two grown men should have known better.

A few things happened in a matter of seconds. Donald jabbed Red in the stomach causing the older man to slap him. Donald reeled back in shock before pouncing on the criminal. He had him pinned down and was swinging at Red's face. Red blocked the punches and lashed out with his own.

Dembe moved quickly and broke them apart. He held them away from each other as they virtually tried to climb over him to continue their battle.

"Heh, they can't keep their hands off each other." Scarlet said getting a chuckle from liz.

"Enough!" Dembe stated sternly as he shoved them both back. "If you do this again, I'll let her deal with you." He said and gestured to Scarlet who gave a devious looking grin. Donald rolled his eyes while Red sneered.

"Fine, we'll stop." He said trying not to sound like child.

* * *

"Ressler, I swear if you don't shut the hell up-,"

"Maybe you should learn to keep your own mouth shut!" Donald shouted. Dembe rolled his eyes and bumped Scarlet with his elbow. She nodded before turning to Liz.

"Would you happen to have two sets of handcuffs that I can use?" She asked and Liz furrowed her brow.

"I guess," she replied but was confused as to what Scarlet would use them for.

"I swear your mouth is as big as your ass!" Donald yelled getting a glare from Red.

"Well, the only thing smaller than your ass is your IQ!" Red yelled back causing Liz to look at Scarlet.

"Did they really just say that?" She asked and Scarlet gave her a small grin.

"The irony is that they can say that but will never admit that they've been looking at each other's butts." She stated just before Ressler slapped Reddington. "Now, let's see if I can do this right." She said before picking up the handcuffs. She walked over and broke them apart.

She hooked one of Ressler's wrist in the cuff before yanking him forward. His chest smashed into Reddington's chest. Moving quickly, she pulled one of Ressler's arms under Red arm and brought the other over Red's other shoulder. She hooked his wrists together making it look like Ressler was giving Reddington an awkward hug. She hooked Red's hands together behind Ressler's back before either of the men knew what was happening.

"What the hell did you do?" Red yelled at the woman who was smirking. She sat the keys to the handcuffs on a table before moving back to them.

"I made you two into a human hug pretzel. There's no way you can get out of that without the keys. You two are going to have to stop fighting and work together, if you want to get those keys." She said and the two men exchanged glances. Scarlet moved behind Red. "Just to make this a little more interesting," she said before kicking Red square in the rear causing the men to fall.

"Ouch! Are you trying to squash me?" Ressler yelled. He was laying flat on his back with Reddington laying on top of him. Red glared down at him.

"I ought to spit in your face."

"You'll crush me before you get the chance." Donald growled and Reddington sneered. Scarlet looked between Liz and Dembe.

"You two wanna go out for diner? My treat." Scarlet asked and the two nodded. Scarlet looked down at the two men on the floor who were staring up at her in disbelief.

"You're just gonna leave us here?" Donald asked and Scarlet nodded.

"Well, when you two get out of this, you can come meet us. I'll buy you both diner."

"I don't think he needs any diner." Donald said. This time, Red did spit in his face. "GAH! You bastard! That went in my eye!"

"You deserved it, dumb ass!" Red yelled back at him. "Scarlet, let us go!" He yelled before looking where he thought she was standing. "Where'd they go?"

"They left."

"Shit. When we get out of here, I'm gonna kick her ass."

"No, you're not."

"Do I need to spit on you again?" Red asked with a glare. Donald gave him a dirty look.

"Can we just get out of this mess?" Donald asked. They started trying to find a way to get to their feet. Red tried to pull them both up but lost his footing. "Fuck!" Donald yelled when Red landed on him again.

"Don't say that when I'm laying on top of you."

"How is it possible that you aren't that big, but you're heavy as hell?" Donald asked getting another glare from Red. "Let's try something else." He stated before flipping them over. They both tried to ignore the fact that they were pressed together. Neither said a word when their cheeks got a pink tint to them.

Donald had to straddle Red to get to where he could move properly. Red sat up to where Donald was kneeling. Maybe they could get out of this after all. By some miracle, they got their feet. Now, they just had to get to the keys.

"Can you reach the keys?" Red asked as he backed up to the table. Ressler reached for them but couldn't get to them.

"This is gonna take a little work." He said. He shifted his arm that was on top of Red's shoulder to get closer to the keys. Red grunted as Donald pressed him up against the table. "Almost got it," he stated pressing against the other man a little more.

Red blushed furiously. The way Donald was reaching was causing Red to have to move back and down. At this point, his face was laying against the younger man's chest.

"I need you to lean back." Donald stated. With a little reluctance, Red did as requested. Donald was virtually laying on him when he finally reached the keys. He quickly unlocked himself before wriggling out of Red's arms.

The two men exchanged a quick glance. Each saw the other's red face before looking away. Donald gave Red the keys before turning away. He rubbed the back of his neck and started for the door. Red wasn't far behind him. They walked out into the parking lot to see Scarlet, Dembe, and Liz waiting on them. Scarlet looked down at her watch.

"Twenty minutes," she said and held her hand out. Dembe handed her a small roll of money.

"You had a bet set on this?" Red asked.

"Actually, I just wanted to know how long it took you. The bet was for if you two were blushing or not when you came out. I think it's safe to say that I won."

author's note_

Not sure why I thought of this. I just wanted to make them uncomfortable, and this was all I could think of. Next chapter will be better. :)


	30. Worry

Donald carried a file in his hands as he walked up the steps to Red's safe house. He paused for a moment. Where was Dembe? Had they already moved onto the next house? He shrugged it off and went inside. If they had left, he'd just call Liz and find out where they had gone.

This house had the same feel the other houses did. They always felt strange but welcoming. This one seemed to have more more bookcases than furniture which seemed fitting to him. He could picture Reddington locking himself in a library and just reading for hours.

"Red, I brought that file you wanted." Donald announced hoping the older man was present. He yelped when hands dug into the front of his shirt and slammed him against the wall behind him. The file fell from his hand causing papers to fly everywhere. He held on tightly to Reddington's wrists. "What the hell?"

"Did you hurt her?" Red asked in a growl. There was a fury in his eyes that Donald hadn't seen before.

"What are you talking about?" Ressler questioned. The glare that Red had on him intensified, as he pressed Ressler against the wall harder. Donald winced and knew that he would have two fist shaped bruises on his chest tomorrow.

"Scarlet," he growled. It was then that Donald noticed the other man's eyes were watering. Donald thought for a moment. Why would Reddington think that he'd hurt Scarlet? He guessed that Red thought that Donald had gotten mad at him and was trying to get back at him.

"No," Donald answered and Reddington stared at him as if to see if her was lying. After a long pause, Red loosened his grip and stepped back. "What happened?"

"You should leave." Red stated but Donald stood his ground.

"Red, answer me." Donald said. Red chewed the inside of his jaw as he thought about what to do. He opened his mouth and closed it before opening it again.

"Dembe and I found her laying on the side of the street naked." Red replied quietly as he averted his eyes from Donald. "She was sedated. So, we couldn't ask what happen, and she still hasn't woken up." He finished before glancing up at Donald.

"Is she going to be ok?" He asked. Red hated the look of concern on Ressler face. He refused to believe that Donald cared about either of them at all.

"That depends on how bad this situation is. If she's pre-pr," Red started before pausing to take a deep breath. "Pregnant, she won't be. If she isn't, there's some hope." He said and a tear ran down his cheek. Ressler reached up and brushed away the tear before he thought better of it.

"What about you?" Donald asked before getting a confused look from Raymond. "Are you going to be alright?"

"I... I'll be fine. I'm just worried about her." He replied and Donald nodded. He watched as Red straightened out his vest. He knew this was hard on the criminal. Despite how much he and Scarlet fought some times, Donald knew that he cared about her more than he would ever admit. He bit his lower lip before stepping forward.

"Don't expect me to ever do this again." Donald stated causing Red to look up at him in confusion. Donald wound his arms around the shorter man's shoulders. Red made an odd noise in his throat and put his hands up to push Donald away. Before he could, he decided to accept the act of kindness.

Red's arms slipped around Donald's waist while his head leaned against his shoulder. He took a ragged breath, and Donald hugged him tighter. Red's eyes slipped closed as he let himself fully appreciate the hug. They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity before finally breaking apart.

"That was adorable." Scarlet said. The two men's gazes snapped to look at her. She had a bed sheet wrapped around her to cover herself and was leaning against the door frame. They blushed and took a step away from each other.

"H-How long have you been standing there?" Donald asked.

"From, 'don't expect me to ever do this again'. Where's Dembe?"

"I sent him to get a pregnancy test." Red answered and Scarlet raised an eyebrow.

"I may not know much about anatomy but I don't think you can get pregnant." She said causing Donald to snicker and Red to roll his eyes.

"I meant for you." He explained. She stared at him with wide eyes for a moment before bursting into laughter. "What's so funny?"

"I haven't had sex in like twenty years." She replied still laughing. "And you think I'm pregnant?"

"You were laying on the side of the street naked. What was I supposed to think?" Red asked suddenly furious. "Do you know worried I was about you? What happened?"

"I got on the wrong side of a low ranking mobster. She stole my clothes and sedated me. It's no big deal."

"She? It wasn't even a man?" Red asked getting even angrier. He bolted for Scarlet, but Donald caught him before he could get to her. One arm was wrapped around Red's waist while the other was around his chest. The shorter man tried to get away to no avail. "Let me go!"

"Not until you calm down," Ressler stated tightening his grip. Red groaned in annoyance as Scarlet left the room to get dressed. "You should be happy that nothing happened to her."

"You should be mad. You hugged me because of this."

"Somehow, I don't think that's going to kill me." Donald replied and Red sighed. He leaned back against him lightly before looking over his shoulder.

"She was right about your chest." He stated and Ressler gave him a nasty look. He let go of his waist and made him turn slightly. Before he could move, Donald slapped him on the ass as hard as he could. "OUCH!" He yelled and broke free of Donald's grip.

"What just happened?" Scarlet asked as she walked back in to see Red rubbing his rear and glaring at a smirking Donald.

"What the hell was that for?"

"That's the only thing that shuts you up."

"Bastard,"


	31. Babysitting

It was a week later that Donald had been sent to bring another file to Red. He wondered briefly why they never sent Liz to do this. Also, what happened to 'I speak only with Elizabeth Keen.'? Oh well, he wasn't going to complain about it. It shouldn't take long.

He walked up to the safe house and walked inside. Dembe gave him a nod to say hello before opening the door for him. Donald walked inside and glanced around for Red. The corners of his mouth tugged upwards when he saw what Red was doing.

"This is the last time I'm doing this." Red stated, not seeing Donald. He was down on his hands and knees with two little girls sitting on his back. They giggled as he crawled around a coffee table. He stopped when he finally saw Ressler. "Donald, how long have you been standing there?"

"Just long enough to know that there's a Reddington express," Donald replied with a smirk as the girls crawled off of Red's back. Red got to his feet and brushed off his pants legs. "When did you get kids?"

"They're Scarlet's nieces. She was going to babysit but got called into a meeting." Red replied and Ressler nodded before he went to hand over the file. Red's eyes shifted to the side and widened.

"Rebecca!" He yelled before moving quickly out of the room. Donald turned and saw him picking up the young girl. "Don't crawl out the window." He said sternly causing the girl to stick out her lower lip.

"Sorry, uncle Ray." She said and he sighed. He kissed her on the cheek before putting her down. She ran out of the room and down the hall while Red walked back to Donald.

"Do you have to do this a lot?" Donald asked and Red shook his head.

"Just one other time," he replied before holding his hand out for the file. Donald was about to give it to him when they were interrupted by a yell from one of the brunette twins. Red groaned as one of them ran in. She rushed to hug him which didn't end well for Red seeing as how her head happened to be about crotch high.

"Rebecca pulled my hair!" The little girl, Tanya, said as Red doubled over in pain. "Are you ok, Uncle Ray?"

"No, I didn't!" Rebecca chimed in as she ran into the room pulling Tanya's attention away from Raymond.

"Yes, you did!" Tanya argued back. Donald put a hand on Red's shoulder but the older man just waved him off. He took a deep breath before standing up straight.

"Need some help?" Donald asked and Red fixed him with a glare as the girls continued to argue.

"I'm a grown man."

"Are you sure? After that hit, I wouldn't be shocked if you were a woman."

"As I was saying," Red stated after rolling his eyes. "I'm a grown man. I think I can handle two little girls." He added. "I'll take that file, now."

"Who are you?" Tanya asked as she looked up at Donald with bright blue eyes. Donald handed Red the file before looking down at her.

"I'm Donald." Ressler replied before the little girl raised her arms up in a silent request to be picked up. Donald reached down and lifted her. Red rolled his eyes as the small girl held onto Donald's shoulder.

"Like Donald Duck?" She asked getting a chuckle from him.

"I guess so," he answered and Tanya looked at Red.

"Uncle Ray, can Donald stay and play with us?" She asked with pleading eyes causing Red to sigh. Why did she have to have those eyes? They were too cute for him to ever tell her no. It didn't help that they were just like Scarlet's eyes.

"If he wants to stay, he can." He replied causing both of the girls to cheer. Red gave them a small smile and didn't notice Donald's grin. Ressler found it slightly amusing that Red would give into the small girls' requests so easily. Maybe, he was about to see a side of Red that he didn't know about.

author's note_

Next will be better. I'm using this to set up a couple of chapters.


	32. Tea Party

A few hours had passed, and the girls had taken to calling Donald 'Duckie'. He didn't mind it. In fact, he found it kind of cute. That was why he was stuck have a tea party with the two girls and Reddington and why he was stuck with this plastic tiara on his head. The only thing that bugged him was when Red would look up at him and snicker.

"Uncle Ray, why don't you have hair?" Tanya asked as she acted like she was pouring tea in a little plastic teacup.

"I shave it off." Red answered. "Thank you." He said when she handed him the small cup before he took a fake sip which made the small girl giggle. Ressler watches as a smile spread across the criminal's face. He'd never seen Red look this happy before. He wouldn't admit it, but seeing Red like this was kind of nice.

"Why do you shave your head?" Rebecca asked taking a bite of a real cookie. Ressler couldn't help but grin at the thought of Red baking. He had to hold back a laugh when he pictured the man in oven mitts and a frilly apron.

"It's easier to deal with." Red replied wondering why Donald looked like he was about to burst into laughter. He had to wonder if the girls had slipped some kind of face paint on him. Sure, he hadn't dozed off or given them a chance to but if they were anything like Scarlet, and they were, they would have found a way to do it. He scratched his cheek and checked for anything that looked like paint. Nothing.

"Did you have tea parties with your kids, uncle Ray?" Rebecca questioned causing Red's back to stiffen.

"I did but how did you know about that?"

"Mommy told us." She replied taking another bite of her cookie, not noticing the gloom that seemed to overtaking Red. "What happened to them anyway? Mommy told us that they disappeared." She asked and Red felt his throat get dry. Donald watched as Red stood up from the table.

"I'll be back in a minute." He muttered before exiting the room. Tanya chucked a cup at Rebecca.

"What was that for?!"

"Aunt Scarlet told us to not say anything about his kids! Now he's all sad." Tanya said.

"I forgot!" The other twin exclaimed. Donald wondered just what had upset Red so much. He had abandoned his family... Hadn't he? "Uncle Duckie, can you help make Uncle Ray feel better?" Uncle? An hour ago, it had just been Duckie.

"Uh, sure." Donald replied.

Red waited another moment before walking back in the room, not knowing the group's plan. He hoped that Donald hadn't seen how upset Rebecca's comments had made him. He still didn't trust Ressler enough that he wouldn't use this against him.

He was shocked to see Donald get to his feet and walk over to him. He expected some smart remark. He didn't know why he expected that but he did. His eyes widened when Donald flung his arms around the shorter man. Red froze for a moment before awkwardly hugging Donald back and could feel his cheeks getting hot from the small act of affection. Then, Donald pulled back but didn't let go of him.

"I got out voted." Donald stated causing Red to raise an eyebrow.

"You hugged me because you were out voted by four-year-olds?" Red asked. That made him a little more upset than it should have. He tried to fight back the nagging feeling of disappointment.

"No, that was my idea." Donald replied. Red nearly sighed with relief but held it back. He wasn't supposed to be happy about Ressler hugging him. Wait... What did he get out voted on?

"GAH! STOP IT!"

* * *

Liz walked towards Red's safe house. She was slightly worried but thought better of the situation. Sure, Donald had never shown back up but didn't Red like Donald, at least enough to not kill him? She stepped up to the front door and saw Dembe raise an eyebrow.

"Is Donald still here?" Liz asked and Dembe nodded. "Can I see him?" She added. Dembe reached for the door knob to let her in when he stopped short.

"GAH! STOP IT!" Red cried out making Liz jump. What the hell was going on? Dembe opened the door, and the two walked inside. What was that noise? Was that laughter? "DONALD, PLEASE. HAHAHAHA. STOP. HAHAHAHA!" Red shouted.

Liz and Dembe walked around the corner and stopped to stare at the spectacle. Donald was digging his fingers into Red's sides causing the criminal to laugh and try to get away from him. Red had tears in his eyes from laughing so hard. Donald and the twins were laughing right along with him as Donald continued his assault. He moved his fingers to Red's belly getting a loud shriek of laughter from Red.

Red tried to swat at his hands and back away. His foot landed on a teacup that had been discarded causing him to lose his balance. He yelped and grabbed onto the front of Donald's shirt. Both fell to the floor in a heap, Ressler on top of Red. They met each other's gaze before bursting into laughter. Dembe exchanged a glance with Liz before clearing his throat. The laughter immediately stopped, and the two men stared up at them with an owlish expression.

"W-What are you doing here?" Red asked nervously not taking notice of the fact that Ressler was still laying on top of him.

"I wanted to make sure that Ressler was still alive. I can see that he is... And that he apparently likes tickling and tiaras." Liz replied. Ressler took the tiara off quickly.

"I got out voted." He stated bluntly.

author's note_

Wanted something kind of cute. This is the second part of the babysitting chapters. There's going to either be one or two more.


	33. The Meeting

Much to Red's and Donald's relief, Liz agreed to not inform Harold as to how Donald had been spending his time. Instead, she told him that Donald had stuck around to make sure that two children weren't being hurt or used as hostages. Harold had said that Donald had done the right thing. He also told them that Donald should stick around for as long as the children were present. Neither men were going to admit how relieved they were about Donald getting to stick around. Of course, they didn't really have to. Liz could tell just by looking at them.

Scarlet would be running later than she thought. So, it was up to Red to give the girls a bath and get them in bed. Donald offered to help which had caused Red to hesitate for a moment. Now, the girls were playing with rubber ducks that floated in their bubble bath while Red and Donald were washing their hair.

"What time do they have to be in bed?" Donald asked glancing over at Red who was kneeling with him on the tile floor.

"They've got about thirty minutes left." Red answered as he worked the shampoo in Tanya's hair. Donald looked at him again, and his gaze lingered. He still found it a bit odd that Red looked this happy, and Donald refused to admit that it made Reddington more intriguing. Usually, there always seemed to be some sadness hidden under his smile. Now, he seemed like he couldn't be any happier. "Is there a reason you're staring, Donald?"

"Hmm? Oh no. Sorry," Donald replied tearing his gaze away from the other man. Red chuckled as Donald felt his cheeks getting hot before the two fell into silence. Donald chewed on his lower lip and glanced around the room awkwardly. His gaze lingered on the shampoo bottle long enough for him to see the words ,'No Tears' written across the label. It had to be a children's shampoo.

He wondered why Red had this. Did he already have it or had Scarlet brought it by? Wait, Red was bald. Did he even have to use shampoo, and why the hell did Donald care? He sighed and another blush crept up his cheeks. He knew that he didn't care. He was just trying to distract himself from what he wasn't ready to admit to himself yet.

"Mr. Reddington," Dembe said as he walked into the room startling Donald. Despite Dembe always being there, it was a rarity that Donald saw him much less heard him speak. "Johnson is here to see you. He's waiting outside."

"Did you try to make him leave?" Red asked, his smile completely gone. Donald furrowed his brow as he watched Red. Raymond had gone from smiling and seemingly care free to scowling and guarded. Donald felt like he could actually see the walls rising that Red used to block people out with. He slightly wondered why the walls hadn't been up the entire time he had been there.

"He refuses to go. The most I could do was to get him to wait until you were ready to see him." Dembe replied and Red worked his jaw in contemplation. Then, he looked, with a cold expression, at Donald. "Ressler, I'm going to need a bit of help."

"Sure," Donald agreed hoping this wasn't going to end badly. Red looked to the two girls.

"You two'll have to finish your baths in a few minutes. Right now, I need you to get out." He said and the two girls nodded. Red and Donald got them out and wrapped up in towels. "Follow me." He instructed Donald after picking up the two girls and heading towards the back of the house.

Donald followed him out the back door that led to an alley where there was a black car. Red got the girls into the back seats before turning back to Donald. Ressler glanced between the car and Red for a brief second.

"Give me your phone." Red ordered. Donald clenched his jaw but did as he was told. Red opened the contacts before adding a new one. "I'm putting Scarlet's number in here. I want you to stay out here with the girls. If I'm not back in five minutes, you get the hell out of here and call Scarlet."

"What's going on?"

"I can't tell you."

"Then, why should I listen to you?" Donald questioned, irritated that Red had gone back to not answering him. Red made a noise in the back of his throat as he glared at Ressler.

"Just trust me on this." Red stated trying to keep calm. This situation was too important to him to let Donald stop him. He watched as Donald searched his face as if looking for a reason to not do as Reddington wanted. Red nearly sighed in relief when Donald snatched his phone back. "Remember, five minutes."

"You better not be up to something." Donald commented as he took the keys from Red who chuckled.

"I'm always up to something."

* * *

Johnson was tall and muscular. Red, not so much. Of course, that had never stopped him from getting things done before, and he was determined not to let it stop him this time wither.

"Johnson," Red exclaimed with fake enthusiasm as he strutted into the room. He wore a smile, but his eyes showed rage. "You old bastard, what are you doing here?" He asked sounding like he was talking to an old friend.

"I believe you already know why I'm here." Johnson replied with a slight Russian accent. He leaned against the back of the chair but knew better than to sit down.

"I'd much rather hear you say what you want." Red stated.

"Fine," Johnson said and leaned forward with a small grin on his face. "I want those girls. They'd make an excellent addition to my business." He explained. Red felt like there was a fire burning in his chest. He wished he had been able to kill this son of a bitch sooner. At least he'd get his chance tonight.

"How is that?" Red asked, keeping the anger out of his voice. He had to keep himself under control because when he killed Johnson, it had to be clean. He couldn't have the girls come back inside and see blood stains everywhere. But, a clean death was also a difficult one.

"When people hear that Scarlet Anderson's nieces are up for grabs, they'll come running. It would be like going fishing and dangling a worm in front of a fish." Johnson explained. Red chuckled as he clenched his fist.

"Johnson, you seem to be forgetting one detail when it comes to fishing." Red stated and Johnson raised an eyebrow. "If you aren't careful, you'll get a hook stuck in your thumb." Red added.

Red's fist collided with Johnson's temple before the larger man had a chance to move. He stumbled but didn't fall. Red moved to strike again but Johnson was quicker. He had pulled out a blade and lashed out. If Red felt the metal make a cut in his belly, he didn't show it. He did glance down for a split second to see what the damage was and saw that the bastard had tried to gut him.(no fishing pun intended)

"It'll take more than that, Reddington." Johnson stated as he held the dagger out in front of himself. "Take one step, and I'll slit your throat."

"Whatever you say, dumb ass." Red replied before swiftly yanking the rug out from under Johnson. The large man fell with a thud. Red kicked the knife away from him before moving to give him a swift kick to the head. Mid-kick, Red's foot was caught and twisted in an attempt to break it.

Red hissed in pain when he felt a snap. It wasn't broken, but it was severely sprained. He stumbled backwards after jerking his leg free and had to grab onto the recliner behind him to keep from falling. Johnson grabbed the knife and shot to his feet. He gave a loud cry before bolting towards Red.

There were two loud 'bangs' before Johnson dropped dead on the floor. Blood dripped from his chest and the back of his head. Red looked to Dembe who, like himself, was holding a gun.

"So much for a clean death."

* * *

Donald felt his anxiety mounting as he watched the clock. Four minutes had passed, and he had seen no sign of Reddington. He chewed on the inside of his jaw as he waited for something to happen. Either Red would walk out,or the clock would show that another minute had passed.

"Uncle Duckie?" Rebecca asked causing Donald to look at her in the rear view mirror. "What's going on?" She added. Donald opened his mouth but closed it again when he couldn't get any words to come out. He just shrugged to show his confusion.

"Hey, look!" Tanya shouted and Donald looked out at the back door of the house. He could see the door was opening. He expected to see Red walking out completely unscathed. His heart sank when he saw it was Dembe instead.

What did this mean? Was Reddington dead? Oh shit, and Donald had just started to like him. NO! He didn't like him. He tolerated him. They were acquaintances at most... Right?

Dembe walked over to the car and opened Donald's door. He motioned for Donald to get out. Donald complied and tried to ignore that his heart was pounding rapidly.

"Mr. Reddington is slightly injured, but he'll be fine." Dembe explained. Donald let out a breath that he hadn't realized he had been holding. He didn't acknowledge the knowing look that Dembe gave him. "I need you to do two things. First, help make sure that the girls don't notice."

"Okay, what else?"

"He needs stitches. Can you help him with that?" Dembe asked and Donald nodded. He was suddenly worried as to how hurt Red really was.

Dembe and Donald carried Tanya and Rebecca inside and into the bathroom quickly before they had a chance to see the blood stains. They had passed Red on the way. Donald glanced at him long enough to get a quick smile as if to say, 'I'm fine.'. After they were in the bathroom, Dembe told Donald to go help Red with something. Donald complied and exited the room. He paused when he reached the other room, and saw Red's pained expression.

He was sitting on the edge of the kitchen table with his leg stretched out in front of him. The coat that he had pulled on to cover the wound had been cast off to show the blood slowly staining his shirt and vest. Donald Barley noticed when Red looked up at him.

"Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to help me?" Red questioned irritably. Donald didn't know how to respond. "Just hand me the first aid kit over there." He added. Donald grabbed the small kit and handed it to Red who opened it on his lap. He swore when it fell to the floor, spilling its contents.

"I think I should do this part." Donald said getting a glare from the other man. He bent over and picked up what he needed. "You'll have to take off your shirt." Red groaned but did as Donald said.

"How many times are you going to ask me to take my clothes off? Honestly, Donald, I'm starting to think you enjoy this." Red joked as he undid the many buttons on his vest and shirt. Both men tried not to blush when Red pulled his shirt off, exposing his chest and wound to Donald. "Anything else?"

"Lay back." Donald instructed. Red did as instructed and winced when the motion caused the cut to spread out a little. Donald got started with the stitches and hoped he wasn't causing Red any pain. "Tell me if this starts to hurt too much." He said and Red nodded. He was quiet for a moment as he thought over the events of the day which caused his cheeks to take on a slight pink tinge.

"Thank you." Red stated. Donald paused and looked at his face.

"For what?" Donald asked as everything rushed through Red's mind: Donald helping with babysitting, hugging him, keeping the girls out of harms way, trusting him when he couldn't tell him what was going on, and now this.

"For actually giving a damn,"

author's note_

Sorry this took so long. I've had a busy couple of days and couldn't find a good time to work on things. I know I said that I'd have another funny chapter with Tanya and Rebecca but after a while, the idea started to sound too goofy for me write it. It involved Donald getting shampoo in his eye, swearing in front of children, and then getting his mouth washed out with soap. It sounds kind of funny, but I wasn't feeling it.

So instead, you get new development in Donald's and Red's relationship. You also get to see how Red actually lets his gaurd down around Donald. Hope you guys enjoy this. :)


	34. Fun and Games

Donald wasn't sure why he had agreed to this. He was sitting at the kitchen table and was playing a card game with Reddington. Tanya and Rebecca had been taken to bed and were sound asleep while Dembe guarded the window in their room. Red didn't know if Johnson had any one working for him, but he wasn't about to take any chances.

"It's your turn, Donald." Red stated with a small smile. Donald looked down at his cards before picking one of them out of his hand and laying it down. Red raised an eyebrow as he stared at the card before shifting his gaze to the other man.

"What?" Donald asked. Honestly, he had no idea what he was doing. He'd never even heard of this game before, much less played it.

"That's not a legal move."

"Since when are you worried about legal?" Donald questioned getting a chuckle from Red. Raymond winced and clutched his hand over the stitches on his belly. "You didn't rip them, did you?"

"No, just pulled them a little." Red replied, letting his hand wander back to the table. Next to his hands was a pistol. Since Dembe was guarding the girls, he was taking precautions and was glad that Donald fully understood. "Do you want to play a different game?"

"Desperately," Donald responded getting a small grin from Red. He didn't dare laugh again for fear of Donald having to sow him back up again. Red gathered all the cards into a deck before shuffling them again.

"Have you ever played bull shit?"

"A few times," Donald replied. "Figures you'd pick a game where lying is the way to win."

"Maybe you'll learn something." Red said as he dealt the cards. "You start."

"One ace," Ressler stated placing the card face down. Red pulled out three cards and sat them down.

"Three twos,"

"Bull shit," Ressler stated getting a glare from Red who picked the cards back up. He glanced at the cards and paused.

"This isn't an ace."

"I never said I wasn't good at lying."

* * *

It didn't take Red long to learn that Ressler happened to be a very good liar. In fact, he had kicked Red's ass at this game. Red felt a mix of admiration and irritation for the younger man who was leaning back in his chair with a smug grin spread across his face. Shortly after this, the deck of cards had been put away and a scrabble board took its place.

Now, Donald was looking down at the board and chewing the inside of his jaw in contemplation. He looked at the several cuss words that littered the game. It was Red's turn to look smug. He might not be able to lie better than Donald, but he could certainly swear more than him. He wondered if this was something that he really needed to take pride in.

"Really, Donald?" Red asked when Donald placed an 'a' at the end of 'fuck'. "I don't think that counts."

"It was worth a shot." Donald said as he picked the piece back up.

The front door opened causing Red to grab the pistol. He aimed it at the person who had just walked inside. He lowered it when he saw that it was Scarlet.

"What are you two doing?" She asked, completely unfazed that a gun had been aimed at her.

"Dirty scrabble," Red answered as he sat the pistol back down. Scarlet walked over to the table and glanced at the board and the two men's pieces.

"Whose turn?"

"Mine," Donald stated causing Scarlet to take a closer look at his tiles. She gave a small shrug.

"That's really a tough one. How did you get such a SHITTY set of tiles?" She asked and smirked when Donald picked up a 't' and 'y' from the letters and placed them on the board. Red looked at the board before glaring up at Scarlet. " What?"

"You traitor,"

"Can I sleep here tonight?" Scarlet asked and Red pressed his lips together tightly.

"If you get me another word on here, you can stay." Red stated. She looked at his tiles before picking up several of them. She placed the word 'sucker' at the end of 'cock'. Donald look flabbergasted for a second.

"What?! You got me two letters but gave him six?" Donald asked as Red smirked at him.

"I just spent the last twelve hours arguing with a man who was trying to get 'lingerie day' started at the bar. Sorry, Donald, but I'm tired."

author's note_

Wanted to write something kind of funny. This is leading up to another more important chapter... Not that Bull Shit and Dirty Scrabble aren't important. I've never actually played Dirty Scrabble, but I have played Bull Shit. It's really fun, but I kind of lose it. Mostly, it's just when someone's wrong about when I'm lying and I end up telling them, 'Pick it up, bitch!'... I've said this more times than I care to admit.


	35. Certain Feelings

"So, how did the great Raymond Reddington get himself hurt like this?" Scarlet asked as she helped Red to his feet. He leaned on her to keep his weight off of his sprained ankle.

"Johnson," Red replied simply. Donald looked confused while Scarlet looked completely shocked.

"Johnson?... You mean human trafficking Johnson?" She asked and Red nodded. "Did you kill him?" She added. Red gave Donald a quick glance before looking back to Scarlet and cleared his throat.

"Oh yeah, because I don't know what that means." Donald stated sarcastically and rolled his eyes. "I just want to know who this guy was." He said as he leaned against the back of a chair.

"He used me as a prostitute to pay off his debts for eight years." Scarlet replied bluntly. Donald froze and stared at her. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to handle that bit of information.

"Is that enough information, Donald?" Red asked. Donald cleared his throat and nodded. "I think you embarrassed him."

"He asked,"

* * *

It was late, and Donald needed to get back to his apartment. He left but not without feeling a little strange. He tried to shake the feeling but found that it refused to let go of him.

He wasn't even entirely sure what the feeling was. He only knew when it had started to show up. It had been shortly after Scarlet had shown up and Johnson had been mentioned. After a while, it had occurred to Donald that Red had killed for Scarlet. He had hunted down a man and had even gotten injured trying to avenge Scarlet. Somehow, that made Donald feel a little sick.

Then, it had been up to Scarlet to get Reddington ready to go to bed. After saying good bye to Donald, they had retreated to a bedroom. On the way home, Donald felt his stomach lurch at the thought of what Scarlet and Red might be doing right now. With the injuries that Red had, it was likely that Scarlet would offer to help him undress. What if she wanted to thank him in a certain way?

Donald groaned to himself at the thought. He grimaced as his cheeks turned a bright Red. Why the hell was he thinking about this? He didn't care who Reddington was sleeping with! Hell, he didn't even know if the two would sleep together. For all he knew, the relationship was completely platonic.

Donald pulled into the apartment building's parking lot and stopped his car. He yanked the keys out of the ignition before standing up. He groaned again as the feeling grew stronger and tried to convince himself that he had a stomach bug. That would have explained the queasiness.

He walked quickly to his apartment and went inside. He went to his bedroom and flopped down face first without bothering to undress. He was so tired. He closed his eyes only to be bombarded by a mental picture when Scarlet had kissed Red on the cheek. The look that Red had given her after that made Donald's stomach lurch again.

"Shit," Donald muttered. He'd never tell anyone, not even himself but he knew what the feeling was. Donald Ressler was starting to get jealous.

* * *

Red was laying comfortably on the bed with and extra pillow under his injured ankle. He closed his eyes and sighed as Scarlet laid her head against his shoulder. If it had been any other man laying there next to her, they would have wanted to take advantage of the situation. Red just wanted to get some rest. He wasn't and would never be interested in Scarlet like that. They both knew that.

"So, who did the stitches?" Scarlet asked as she shifted a little to get comfortable.

"Donald," Red answered and felt Scarlet smile against his shoulder. "What?"

"You two had quite the day together, didn't you?" She asked causing him to blush. He knew where this was going, and he didn't like.

"Can we have this conversation later? I'm tired."

"Come on, don't you at least like him a little?" She said getting an annoyed groan from him. "I'm serious." She added. There was a long silence between the two. "...Red?"

"What?"

"...You haven't denied it yet." Scarlet stated. Usually, Red would have denied everything as quickly as possible. Had he gotten tired of making the effort or had something changed?

"Well," he started and paused to think of what to say. Scarlet turned her head to look at his face. "He's... a friend."

"Red,"

"What?"

"You're blushing. If I can see that in the dark, you must be pretty damned embarrassed." She explained and he averted his eyes. "Is there something you'd like to admit?" She asked and he paused for a moment.

"Why do you do this to me?... Swear you aren't going to tell anyone."

"I swear on my love of fanfiction."

"What the hell is fan-. You know what, I don't care. Alright, I might like Donald a little."

"Why don't you do something about it?" Scarlet asked, glad that Red was finally admitting this.

"He's young and attractive. I'm older, bald, and a little overweight." Raymond responded causing Scarlet to roll her eyes.

"First off, you are attractive. Second, looks don't matter when you like the person's personality enough. And third, I'm getting you two together."

"NO!" Red yelped and Scarlet flinched. "Don't get involved. Every time you try something like this, someone gets hurt. Usually, that someone is me."

author's note_

Yes, Scarlet likes Fanfiction :D. Honestly, I can see her reading fanfictions and watching Vlogbrothers videos. She's not only beautiful but a nerd as well. :)


	36. Camera

A little over a month had passed. Red and Donald had started to shy away from each other when the conversation seemed to be getting a little too comfortable. They couldn't admit what they felt. It would be too awkward if the other rejected them or was disgusted by the thought of them being together.

Scarlet had pulled back on her claims that they liked each other. It was fun to see them blush at the mention of a relationship, but she didn't like the glare she got from Red. So, she had shut up about it, not knowing what that was going to do to Donald. Like what it was going to do today when she walked into the post office wearing one of her low cut dresses that would make most any man stare.

"Are you ready to go?" She asked Red and he nodded as he wound his arm around her waist. Donald felt his stomach clench at the sight. He bit the inside of his cheek as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Go where?" Donald questioned. He held back his anger when Red looked past him at Liz.

"We need to be going. You can bring him up to date, can't you?" Red asked and Liz nodded. Red and Scarlet started to the door. Scarlet looked over her shoulder and smiled back at them.

"See you later." She called getting a small wave from Liz and a nasty look from Donald. Scarlet's smile faltered for a second before turning back around. She chewed on the inside of her jaw as they walked out to the car. "Is Donald ok?"

"I think so. Why?"

"He seemed a little ticked off at me. I didn't do anything, did I?"

"Scarlet, you always do something, but I think Donald should be used to that by now." Red replied as the two got in.

* * *

"So, what's going on?" Donald asked as he looked up at the screen with Liz. "And what does Scarlet have to do with it?"

"She's Reddington's date." Liz replied causing Donald's gaze to snap to her. "They're going in to get information from a crime lord. The camera is so we can record the information."

"How'd they set up the camera?"

"It's a meeting building. No one has to give up their safe houses. Lucky for us, that means that no one notices when the place gets bugged." Liz stated before the screen showed Red, Scarlet, and another man and woman walk into the room.

"You sure no one knows that the place is bugged?" Donald asked holding back a sneer when Red put his arm around Scarlet's shoulders. He was really getting irritated by his feelings of jealousy towards Scarlet who had done nothing for him to be at her.

"Reddington and Scarlet don't even know it's there." Aram chimed in as he looked up from behind his computer. "I installed it yesterday. It's no bigger than the tip of a pen. So, there's no way anyone'll see it."

"So, how have you two been doing?" Red asked the couple sitting across from him and Scarlet.

"We've been fabulous, Raymond." Answered the woman, Veronica. Donald took note of her accent but wasn't sure of where it was from. France, maybe? "How have you and your wife been doing?"

"Wife?!" Donald exclaimed drawing Liz's and Aram's attention to him. "...Sorry,"

"Have they gotten there yet?" Harold asked joining the others.

"They just arived. They're still going through small talk." Liz answered before looking back to the screen.

"We've been fine. Haven't we, honey?" Red asked rubbing Scarlet's shoulder. She nodded before Red leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the lips. Donald, in responce pressed his lips together tightly.

"I suppose that we should get to business." The man stated in the same accent as the woman. Red nodded in agreement.

The next hour was filled with pointless conversation, a few needed facts, and Donald clenching his jaw every time Red showed any kind of affection for Scarlet. By the end he was fighting back the raging jealousy gnawing at him from the inside,

"I'll be back in a minute." Donald muttered before leaving the room and going to the men's room. He took a deep breath when he was inside and stood in front of one other mirrors. He glanced at himself as he turned on the water. He sneered when he saw the pink tinge in his cheeks. He splashed water on his face before looking at himself again.

"This is stupid." He said to his reflextion. "You aren't supposed to feel like this about him. Hell, you aren't even supposed to like him." He muttered and turned off the water. He needed a minute to himself.

Outside, the small group was watching the meeting end. Red and Scarlet said good bye before the other two left out of the room. Red was pulling his jacket over his arm when he noticed the look on Scarlet's face.

"What are you planning?" He asked raising an eyebrow. Her grin spread a little more.

"McCarthy," she stated getting a confused look from the criminal. "I mean for you and Donald." She explained causing Red to roll his eyes. "Come on, consider it. You and him would have an excuse to make out and maybe get that spark started."

"Who is McCarthy?" Harold asked.

"She's one of Scarlet's informants who only talks to gay men." Liz replied.

"Why would Agent Ressler and Reddington be going together? They aren't a couple. I don't even think that they're Homosexual."

"I don't know."

"Scarlet, I told you to stay out of it." Red scolded.

"Well, you don't look like you're going after him anytime soon on your own." Scarlet retorted and crossed her arms. "If you want a relationship with him, you'll have to go after him."

"I'll pursue a relationship with him when I feel the time is right. You don't rush things like this." Red stated. "Now, let's get going."

"...D-Did Reddington just out himself?" Liz asked as she stared wide eyed at the screen.

"Yeah... and for Ressler." Aram answered.

author's note_

Sorry that I haven't posted in a while. I'm visiting family right now and haven't had much free time. I wanted to get one chapter up. More chapters will come soon. :D


	37. Discussion

Red was chatting with Donald in the main room of the post office. Neither noticed the looks they got from Liz, Harold, or Aram. They were too focused on each other while the others were trying to figure out what they were supposed to do about this situation. Red and Donald never noticed when the other three exited the room to discuss what was going on.

"Why don't we just ask Scarlet what to do?" Liz questioned as she and Aram sat in the two seats in front of Harold's desk.

"I've already called for her to come in, but I'm concerned that she would lie for Reddington." Harold responded leaning back in his chair.

"I don't think so." Aram chimed in. "She's his friend, but she's proven that when he needs to be told off, she'll do it. Like when she told us about her twenty first birthday." He explained and Liz nodded.

"But this is different. She may lie when she finds out that Ressler might get relocated. She wouldn't want Reddington to lose a chance to be with someone he likes."

"She's also a nice person." Liz added. "If there's a chance that Reddington will corrupt Donald, she'll want to get him out of here."

"There's still the possibility that Reddington will make his feelings known and Ressler won't feel the same. What do you think that a criminal like him is going to do?" Harold asked and the other two exchanged glances. They really had no idea.

* * *

Scarlet hurried into the post office hoping that Red didn't see her. She didn't know why she had been called in and didn't want to deal with him asking why she was there. She didn't worry about it when she heard Red laughing. She glanced over and saw Raymond talking with Donald. Both looked at ease and happy.

Scarlet hurried to Harold's office and greeted the three people. She walked over to Harold desk and sat on the edge, ignoring the look her gave her. There were no seats left. What did he think she would do?

"What do you need?" Scarlet asked looking down at Harold.

"The meeting you and Reddington went to yesterday was bugged." Harold started. "W-,"

"Shit! Who bugged it?" Scarlet asked.

"Us,"

"...Oh,"

"We heard what you two were talking about after the meeting was over." Harold said and stopped expecting her to start in with a cover up story. Instead she looked like she was trying to figure out what he was talking about.

"What did we talk about?"

"Reddington wanting a relationship with Ressler," Harold answered before Scarlet let out nervous laughter.

"That's not what that meant. Hehe, we meant that... he... wanted to... ah crap. I got nothing. Red's crushing on Donald... Did Donald hear about this?" Scarlet asked and crossed her arms over her chest. "And what does that have to do with me?"

"No, he didn't, and we need your opinion on the matter. Do I need to relocate Ressler?"

"Why would you need to do that?"

"We're afraid that Red is gonna end up hurting Donald." Liz chimed in drawing Scarlet's attention. "We don't know how he'll react if Donald doesn't like him back."

"Red would probably just go and sulk for a while. He might act like he would do something, but he likes Donald too much to do anything."

"Hey guys, you might want to look at this." Aram said as he looked out of the office window. The other three moved to where they could look out.

"What are we looking at?" Harold questioned seeing only that Red and Donald were still chatting.

"Don't they look like they're standing a little close to each other?" Aram asked as the two men chuckled at whatever joke had been told. Like Aram said, the two were unusually close. Donald was standing back against the wall behind him but seemed to be leaning towards Red. Raymond was smiling broadly as he was talking about God knows what. He seemed to talk with his hands a little more than he would have normally and would occasionally touch Donald on the shoulder or the arm. Scarlet took note of the small grin that spread across Donald's face each time that Red made any contact with him.

"How did Donald act when you guys were watching the meeting?" Scarlet asked.

"He looked kind of uncomfortable."

"That explains why he was pissed at me." She stated with a wide smile. "He was jealous!"

"You think that Donald likes him back?" Liz asked getting a vigorous nod from Scarlet. "What do we do?"

"I could set them up." Scarlet offered. "Can I?" she asked Harold looking like an excited child.

"... Alright but if anything goes wrong, it's your fault." He replied and flinched when Scarlet squealed and hugged him tightly. She pulled away and dug out her phone. She dialed quickly and held the phone to her ear.

"Hey, McCarthy. You remember Red and Donald, right?"

author's note_

I couldn't see Harold avoiding dealing with this. So, you guys get a glimpse at how others see these two. If you didn't get it, nobody told Donald about what Raymond had said about the relationship stuff... I'm cruel like that :)


	38. Sucker Punch

With the way Donald acted when Scarlet got around Red, she was sure that he getting jealous. She didn't really know why. Red didn't see her like that, and she didn't see him like that. Regardless, she would catch him glaring at her from time to time, and she knew that she needed to talk to him about this. Jealousy could make people do stupid things, and someone might get hurt.

Scarlet walked into the gym and heard Donald in the boxing room. He was alone and was hitting one of the various punching bags. Scarlet pulled out her gloves and went inside thinking that she might as well get the talking over with. She slipped them on before walking up to Donald.

"Hey," she said getting a glance from him. "You wanna go against me?" She asked. With how mad he had been over the past week, she was sure that he wasn't going to refuse the opportunity. He stepped back and wiped the sweat of of his forehead.

"Why not?" He asked and turned towards her. They tapped their gloves together before getting into a fighting stance. Donald jabbed at her but was blocked. He wasn't going to try to hurt her. Just a quick tap was all either of them were going to try to do.

"Is there something you want to talk to me about?" Scarlet asked sending in her own jabs. All were blocked quickly.

"Not really,"

"You sure?" She asked getting in a body shot. "Because you've seemed pretty mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you." Donald replied and hit her on the side of the face. She flinched before blocking another shot.

"So, those have been love glares?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." He lied as he blocked another hit. He didn't want to discuss this.

"Every time I get around Red, you get mad at me. I just want to know what's going on." She said getting hit again. This one was a little harder. She was guessing that she was starting to piss him off. "If you want something from me, just tell me."

"You want to know what I want?" Donald asked feeling a surge of rage run through him. He swung at her again. She blocked it but could feel the power put behind it. "I want Red." he stated hitting harder than before. "But I can't because he likes you and he'll never like me!"

He swung at her again. She couldn't block it in time and felt his fist connect with the side of her head. Donald stared in shock as Scarlet fell to the floor in a heap. He dropped down next to her and shook her by the shoulders. He hadn't meant to hit her so hard. Her head rolled forward as she tried to stay away.

"Nice right hook," she muttered before her head fell backwards.

* * *

Scarlet woke up a few minutes later with a pounding in her head. She looked over at Donald who was sitting on the floor next to her. He looked like he felt guilty. This certainly hadn't gone as planned. She sat up and leaned against him.

"So, you do like him." Scarlet stated. Donald blushed and avoided eye contact. "And you've been jealous." She added causing him to blush harder. "You don't have anything to worry about. We don't like each other like that."

"How do you like each other then?" Donald asked. He had seen her hug him so many times. There had to be some connection between them.

"He's like a father to me."

"But what are you to him?"

"An annoying daughter," she stated getting a small smile from him. "Do you want me to get you two together?" She asked drawing his gaze to her.

"How?"

"By getting you two back to McCarthy's," she replied. "I think all you two need is a spark." She added. Donald bit his lower lip and ran his hand through his hair in thought.

"...If you get him to agree to go, I'll do it." He said. She patted him on the shoulder and stood up. He grabbed her hand before she could leave. "Don't tell him what I said."

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." Scarlet replied. She cursed him mentally. Now, she couldn't tell either one that the other liked him! Why did this have to be so complicated?


	39. Acting?

Red chewed the inside of his jaw as they got closer to their destination. Donald sat next to him with his arms crossed over his chest. His throat was dry, and his hands were shaking. Neither of them knew how this was going to end. All they knew was that they'd have to put on a show for McCarthy while they tried to keep control of themselves. Last time, they had lost control even though they hadn't even known that they were attracted to each other.

"You two okay back there?" Scarlet, who was sitting in the front passenger seat asked. Both nodded to answer her. They were afraid that if they tried to speak, their voices would show how nervous they were. Scarlet gave them a skeptical look but turned around. She glanced at Dembe. Did he know what was going on between Red and Donald?

It wasn't long before they pulled up in front of McCarthy's. The outside looked just as bad as it had before, if not slightly worse. Red, Donald, and Scarlet stepped out of the car and started towards the front door. Red bumped his hand against Donald's causing the younger man to glance down at it. It took him a moment to realize what Red was doing. He placed his hand in Red's and interlaced their fingers. A blush crept across their cheeks before Scarlet knocked on the door.

The door opened and McCarthy was beaming up at them. Scarlet returned the bright smile and hugged the shorter woman. McCarthy returned the hug before hugging the two men.

"It's so nice to get a social visit." She stated as she led the three inside. "Please have a seat." She added and gestured to a sofa that faced a chair.

"When the hell did she get a couch?" Donald hissed to Red to where the chatting girls couldn't hear him.

"Don't complain, Donald." Red scolded.

"I'm just saying it would have made the last visit a lot easier." He said as they sat down. Red gave him a stern look.

"If you keep complaining, I'm going to kiss you. I don't think you want that." Red stated and Donald rolled his eyes.

"I wouldn't have had to have your fat ass in my lap." Donald pushed getting a nasty look from Red. Raymond put his free hand behind Donald's head and pulled him into a kiss. Ressler fought the urge to lean into the kiss more than what would seem natural. Red pulled back hoping he hadn't lingered too long.

"I see you two are still going at it." McCarthy commented drawing their attention. Red got a feeling of foreboding when he noticed the knowing look in her eyes. This couldn't be good.

"Yeah, we've gotten pretty serious, haven't we, Raymond?" Donald asked kissing Red on the cheek.

"Obviously, Donny." Red replied. He bit his lower lip when he thought about the last time that Donald had called him Raymond instead of Red. It was when Donald had been getting revenge for messing with him. Donald had handcuffed him to the bed and had unbuttoned his pants. The memory, mixed with Donald's hand leaving his to lay on the inner part of his thigh, caused Red to make an involuntary noise in the back of his throat.

"What the hell was that?" Donald asked with a chuckle as Raymond's cheeks reddened. "That was the cutest noise I've ever heard." He added causing Red to give a faint smile.

"Shut up." Red muttered as he laid his head on Donald's shoulder. His smile grew when he felt Donald press his lips against the top of his head.

* * *

Half an hour had passed since they first arrived. Red and Donald had gotten comfy while Scarlet chatted with McCarthy. Red had his back to Donald's chest. Donald had one hand on Red's thigh while his other arm had been wrapped around Reddington's shoulder. Raymond leaned his head back to look at Ressler with a smile.

"You look happy." Donald noted as he stroked his thumb against Red's thigh. Red blushed as his smile broadened a little. Donald tilted his head forward until his lips pressed against Red's. Raymond lifted his hand up to the back of Donald's neck and played with his hair.

Scarlet glanced at them before looking back to McCarthy and pointing to a door with her thumb. McCarthy nodded, and the two women stood. They walked into the kitchen without being noticed by the two men.

Red pressed into the kiss more causing Donald to make a noise in his throat. Donald's arms slipped around Red's waist and pulled him closer. Red shifted to where he was practically in the other man's lap and wound his arms over Donald's shoulders. Ressler broke the kiss up only to move his lips to Red's neck getting a moan from the shorter man. As Donald placed slow kisses down Red's throat, he noticed something. He pulled back with a look of confusion on his face.

"When did they leave?" Donald asked and Red raised an eyebrow.

"When did who leave?" He asked causing Donald to furrow his brow. It took a moment for Red to remember where they were. When he did, his entire face and neck took on a pick tinge. His stomach clenched when he realized what position he was in with Donald.

"You forgot this was an act?" Donald questioned but only got a stare as a reply. He took note that Red hadn't moved away from him. That either meant that he didn't want to move or didn't know what the hell to do. Hoping it was the former of the two, Donald leaned back in and pressed their lips together. He pulled back a few inches and waited. He got his answer when Red returned the kiss.

* * *

Scarlet and McCarthy watched from the kitchen as the two broke the kiss only to return to it a second later.

"Thanks for the help." Scarlet whispered even though she doubted that it would have interrupted the two in the living room if she had been yelling.

"No problem. I just can't believe they didn't figure it out on their own."

author's note_

So... I kind of suck at writing make out scenes. Oh well, now it truly is a resslington fic. :D Just as a warning, i may have a chapter that is a little... inappropriate.;) But I'll put a warning at the beginning of the chapter.


	40. Date Night

Much to Donald's annoyance, Red had left on business the day after McCarthy's. Sure he was supposed to be back in a couple of days, but the timing was horrible. Now, Donald was exhausted from work and was on the verge of sleep. He was just about to drift off when he heard a banging on his door. He jumped from shock before glaring through the front room in annoyance. Who ever it was, he was going to slap.

He stood and walked to the front door in nothing but his underwear. The floor was chilly on his bare feet but that didn't bother him. He opened the door and stared in shock.

"Get dressed." Red instructed with a small grin. "Something fancy if you have it." He added as Donald stammered.

"I thought you weren't supposed to be back until Tuesday." Donald stated causing Red's grin to drop. "I don't mean that I'm not happy you're back. I just wasn't expecting this."

"Well, I wasn't expecting you to be in your boxers. Surely you aren't going to bed this early."

"I had a long day." Donald replied before stepping back into his apartment, followed by Red. "So, why am I supposed to dress up?"

"I'm taking you on a date." Red answered and Donald raised an eyebrow. Somehow, Red managed to look not only caring but smug as well. He wasn't really sure how that was possible.

"Most people would call ahead or you know, make sure the other person agreed to this." Donald stated getting a blush from Red.

"You do want to go, don't you?" Red asked looking a little less sure of himself. Donald stepped over to him and wound his arms around Red's waist.

"You wanna tell me where we're going?" He asked before pressing their lips together briefly.

"Not really," Red replied before winding his arms over Donald's shoulders and pulling him into another kiss. He pulled back with a smile. "It's a surprise, but I think you'll like it."

* * *

An hour later, Donald was in a suit and was sitting next to Red in a crowd. Donald wasn't going to say it, but he didn't think Red could have been more wrong about this. He wasn't enjoying this in the least bit. Apparently, Red had an interest in opera that Donald didn't share. So, he was just sitting there and hoping that it would be over soon.

"Are you enjoying yourself, Donald?" Red whispered over to him. He turned and saw the happy and expectant look on his face.

"Yeah, great," Donald replied trying to sound enthusiastic. He gave Red a big fake smile which he thought would be seen through in a second. Instead, Red looked pleased by this and turned his gaze back to the performance. He leaned his head over on Donald's shoulder and took his hand in his own. Donald couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. He might not like opera or even be able to understand what the performers were saying, but this was worth it.


	41. Steakhouse

Red was scrounging through his closet. Donald had said that he was going to take him out to dinner. His only requirement was that Red dressed casual. Unfortunately, Red didn't have many clothes that fit that category. He pulled out a pair of jeans and a black shirt. He glared at the offending items before finally putting them on.

Looking in a mirror, he grimaced. These didn't look or feel natural on him. In fact, he hoped that when Donald got there, he would tell him to go change. Red sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. He knew Donald wouldn't say that no matter how under dressed he was.

"You ready to go?" Donald asked from the door. Red looked up at him with a smile. He stood and walked over to the other man who wrapped his arm around Red's shoulders.

"Do I get to know where we're going yet?" Red asked and raised and eyebrow.

"Hey, you didn't tell me we were going to the opera. It's my turn to surprise you."

"That's fair enough." Red replied but still looked disappointed.

* * *

Red walked inside behind Donald who had brought him to a steakhouse. It looked like a good enough place, but Red felt uncomfortable as they walked to one of the booths. Part of his discomfort was from the clothes he was wearing. He felt naked without his usual button up shirt and vest. The other part was the odd crunch of peanut shells under his feet. He strongly hoped that this was allowed and it wasn't due to disgusting customers.

Donald slid into the booth thinking that Red would go to the other side. Instead, the criminal slid in next to him and gazed around the room. Donald watched him, not knowing what exactly he was looking for. Donald put his arm over his shoulders, drawing his attention back to him.

"Something wrong?" Donald asked as Red leaned against him and went back to his looking.

"I don't know. Something feels..." Red bit the inside of his cheek as he searched for the right words. "Out of place,"

"How about a distraction?" Donald asked with a smirk. Red turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What do y- hmmf," Red said being cut off mid sentence by Donald's lips. He nearly pulled back out of shock but leaned into the kiss. He ran his fingers into Donald's hair. He couldn't help the small moan that escaped him when he felt Donald nip at his lower lip.

"... Agent Ressler?" Asked a familiar voice that made Donald jump in shock and fear. Red and Donald turned to stare with owlish expressions.

"D-Director Cooper, what're you doing here?" Donald questioned nervously.

"I could ask you the same thing, but I think it's fairly obvious as to what you two are doing." Harold stated and a blush crept over Red's and Donald's faces. Harold glanced between the two before stated, "I'll leave you to your date." He started to walk away but was stopped by Ressler.

"Wait... A-Am I fired?" Donald asked feeling his heart pounding in his chest. Harold raised an eyebrow.

"I don't see why you would be when Scarlet already spoke on both of yours behaves." He stated causing Red to exchange a look with Donald.

"Scarlet told you about this?" Red asked with an annoyed tone.

"... I think it would be more accurate to say that you told us."

"Huh?" Donald said as he looked to Red who looked just as confused as him.

"Come again?" Red asked.

"The meeting you and Scarlet went to was bugged to where we could keep the information we needed. You just so happened to mention wanting a relationship with Agent Ressler."

"Smooth," Donald commented getting a nasty look from Red. "Wait. Why didn't I hear him?"

"You had gone to the bathroom."

"...And no one bothered to mention this to me?"

"We didn't think you were interested in Reddington." Harold replied and both men were silent. "Is that all?"

"... What did Scarlet tell you?" Red asked.

"I believe she said that putting you in a relationship was like putting a muzzle on a dog." Harold answered enjoying the grimace that spread across Red's face. Harold told the two good bye before leaving them alone. Donald, who still had his arm around Red, could feel the anger rising in the shorter man.

"What the hell did she mean by that?" Red hissed to where only Donald could hear.

"Don't worry about it. She probably just said it so I wouldn't get relocated." Donald reasoned but Red wouldn't hear it. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to call her and give her a piece of my mind." Red answered as he started to dial. Donald couldn't see this going anywhere good. So, he had to stop it. He put his hand under Red's chin and turned his head to where he had to look at him. Red opened his mouth to argue but was stopped when Donald pressed his lips against Red's. Donald only pulled away after Red had seemed to have completely melted into the kiss.

Red cleared his throat and looked at his phone. After a moment of consideration, he placed the phone back in his pocket. He gave Donald a small smile.

"I'll do it after dinner." He muttered as he blushed lightly. He was pulled into another long kiss that he couldn't help smiling into. Maybe being muzzled wasn't such a bad thing.

author's note_

Just wanted to point out that the steakhouse is based off of Long Horn Steakhouse. They do the thing with the peanut shells which kind of weirded me out a little. I was the weird person who would leave the shells on the table and then push them off when no one was looking. I'm not really sure why I did that when everyone else was just throwing them on the floor... I think I may have issues. :)


End file.
